


Life is Simply Better With You

by therestisjustconfetti



Category: The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, It’s just happy and fluffy and good for the soul, No lady in the Lake to ruin things, Romantic Fluff, a small amount of ansgt, they kind of can't keep their hands off each other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:07:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 45,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27423199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/therestisjustconfetti/pseuds/therestisjustconfetti
Summary: Snapshots of Dani and Jamie's blissfully happy life together in Bly if there were no ghosts or Lady in the Lake.
Relationships: Dani Clayton & Jamie, Dani Clayton/Jamie
Comments: 104
Kudos: 614





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, all! This is just a sweet fic to help bring us all a little joy. I’m going to continue to write more of these little moments and I hope you enjoy them. I hope it makes you feel as happy reading it as I feel writing it. x

Sunlight pours into Dani’s bedroom and she feels the comforting warmth of it on her face. The woman beside her stirs slightly and cuddles in closer to her side and Dani sighs in content at the feeling. Jamie had been spending more and more nights with her at Bly and waking up each morning with her in the bed had become something she treasured. No one ever questioned why Jamie was always there, more than she used to be, it was just natural. Dani slowly blinks open her eyes and yawns. She turns her head to look at Jamie and smiles at the sight of the brunette looking so cozy and soft beside her. Knowing she has to get up to be with the kids for a lesson in the classroom that morning, she presses a kiss to Jamie’s forehead and does her best to slip out of the bed as quietly as she could so as not to wake her. 

Dani tiptoes into the washroom and closes the door. She turns on the shower and takes off her pajamas. She steps in and pulls the curtain closed and lets the hot water cascade over her body. It’s relaxing and comforting as the steam swirls up around her. The sound of the washroom door opening and closing catches her attention. 

“Care if I join ya?” Jamie asks, poking her head around the shower curtain. 

“Did I wake you? I’m sorry,” Dani says. She most definitely did not mind the company and Jamie pulls the curtain back and steps into the shower with her. 

“Mmm, you didn’t,” Jamie replies and slides her arms around Dani’s waist. She kisses between her shoulder blades and smiles against her skin. “I have some work to do with the roses this morning so I had to get up. Besides, this is the best way to start my morning.”

Both women had grown incredibly comfortable with one another when it came to intimacy and early morning showers together weren’t uncommon and were usually sweet, easy, and had become part of their regular routine. Dani never would have thought that something as simple as washing her partner's hair could make her swell with love and pride, but it did. Twenty minutes later, both women are dry and dressed and about to head out to begin their respective morning tasks but not before Jamie decided to get a few more quiet moments alone with Dani before the rest of Bly could get hold of her.

“The kids are probably waiting for me,” Dani says with her back pressed to her bedroom door, Jamie placing soft kisses across her neck.

“Shh, Owen’s probably got ‘em helping with breakfast.”

“Jamie,” Dani mumbles and laughs a little bit.

The name from Dani’s lips was like music to Jamie’s ears and she loved whenever the blonde said it.

“Do you really want me to stop?” Jamie asks as her lips find the spot just under Dani’s ear that she knew drove her wild. Dani hums in response and shakes her head.

“Didn’t think so.” 

When they finally descend down the main staircase of Bly and make their way to the kitchen, they find out Jamie’s assumption had been correct.

"Morning you two,” Owen says as Flora and Miles finish setting the table for breakfast. “I put these two monsters to work this morning. Needed to earn their keep”.

Jamie glances at Dani then leans in close. “Told ya,” she whispers. 

Dani rolls her eyes and Jamie smirks.

~~~~~~~

“Where do you want these ones?” Dani asks as she walks towards Jamie who is standing near a garden on the left side of the manor. She holds two big green fern looking plants in her arms and slightly struggles with the weight of them, nearly letting one slip from her grasp to the ground. She saves herself and readjusts her grip on both. 

“You didn’t need to bring both at once, Poppins,” Jamie says with a laugh. She takes one of the plants from Dani’s arms and sets it down on the ground beside them. 

Dani sets the other plant down as well and wipes her hands off on the gardening apron that Jamie insisted she wore for practicality reasons to avoid getting dirt on her nice clothes, but also because she looked damn cute in it. 

“We’re going to give these two a new home right over there,” Jamie says and points at a freshly prepared clear section of soil. “They need a lot of light and this isn’t covered by too many trees. Plus, I think an extra pop of green will look great.”

“Why did you choose this plant specifically to go here when you have so many others to choose from?” Dani asks.

“When it grows, it really fills the space up nicely and as the season changes, the shade of it does too. By autumn, it’ll have gone from a deep green to a dark orange shade before it fades for the winter.”

Dani stuffs her hands into the front pocket of her apron. “I definitely didn’t appreciate stuff like this enough before I met you.”

Jamie smiles and shrugs. “Most people don’t appreciate stuff like this enough."

“I love that you do,” Dani replies proudly.

“And because you volunteered to help me, you get to learn how to appreciate them even more by getting to plant them.” Jamie picks up one of the plants and walks towards the clear section of soil where it would soon settle into its new home. “Ready to get your hands dirty?”

“Definitely,” Dani replies and eagerly nods. "Where do we start?"

About 45 minutes later, both plants are in the ground and freshly watered. Jamie and Dani have moved on to planting some fresh small colourful perennials along the edge of the stone church. The flowers Jamie chose have a wildflower quality to them and she explains to Dani that she chose them to add to the aged appearance of the building, wanting the flowers to seem like they had always grown there naturally on their own.

“My neighbours across the street from me as a kid always had a beautiful garden,” Dani says as she pats the soil around a purple flower she had just placed in the ground. “Their roses were so beautiful and they spent all of their time outside taking care of them. I remember one summer night, a kid rode their bike across the bottom section of their garden and the next day, flyers were posted on all of the light and telephone poles on our street. They were offering a reward to whoever could find the culprit of the flower trampling. It mattered that much to them.”

“I might’ve done the same thing,” Jamie says as she sets aside some empty flower pots and picks up a spade to dig a spot for the next flower. “You invest a lot of yourself into a garden, your time, your energy, it needs a lot of nurturing. And then just like that, it can be ruined. Not fair, really.”

Dani nods and thinks of her own childhood home. “My Mom didn’t care about gardening at all,” she says and looks at Jamie. “She'd just let the grass and weeds grow until some guy she worked with would come over and mow it all once or twice a month maybe. I can't even imagine spending part of my childhood in a place like this surrounded by all of these beautiful plants.”

“Look where ya came from and look at ya now, Poppins. Knuckles deep in dirt and giving new life a chance to grow.”

The corners of Dani’s mouth curl up into a smile as she admires the work she’s done in the garden so far. “There’s something so calming about doing this. Being outside, fresh air, so much greenery.”

“It’s soothing for the soul,” Jamie replies. Her heart swells at having Dani beside her helping her with the garden. It was still such a new feeling to have someone in her life who cared enough to take an interest in her work and someone who wanted to be part of it. When Dani asked if she could help that day, Jamie thought she was joking at first. But when the au pair joined her on the walk to the greenhouse after breakfast, she reassured her that she really did want to help and learn and Jamie was nearly giddy at the prospect of spending a day outside with her plants and her girlfriend.

“Yes, exactly. Soothing for the soul,” Dani says. “I’m really starting to understand why you love it so much.”

Jamie feels a warmth settle deep inside of her at Dani’s statement, because Dani may have been talking about the plants, but if Jamie were being honest - she could have been talking about herself. Neither woman had uttered the words yet, but they were there on the tip of each of their tongues and it was only a matter of time before _I love you_ slipped out. It was growing and like the plants they had been placing in the soil, would soon flourish and bloom completely. 

~~~~~~~

“Two pints, yeah?” Jamie calls out to the bartender.

The pub in Bly had become a place where Jamie and Dani would often disappear to on evenings when they grew tired of the scenery of Bly. It was always a chance to be away from the children and away from Hannah and Owen’s curious eyes. They loved them all dearly, but it was nice to have a change of environment. It was also a chance for Jamie to get some fresh clothes from her apartment upstairs, which she would just end up leaving in Dani’s bedroom anyway because she was spending less and less time in her own small home.

Two glasses are set down in front of her and Jamie hands over a couple of bills. “Thanks, mate,” she says and picks up the glasses. She walks across the small pub to where Dani is sitting at a booth in the corner.

The pub was small but homey. The wooden walls and padded booths had stories worn into them and it was very clearly a well-loved gathering place for many of the regular folk in Bly. Each time they had been, it had been busy and loud. Just the way you want it. Full of life and energy. 

A group of burly men is huddled around a small TV shouting as they pass around a cigar and toss back pint after pint and Dani eyes them curiously.

“What are they watching?” she asks as Jamie slides into the booth beside her.

“Football match,” Jamie answers and picks up her glass. “It’s a big one if I remember correctly. Probably all have a few quid on the outcome."

Jamie slides Dani’s glass across the table towards her and she smiles. “Thank you. And please let me pay when we come here next.”

“Not likely,” Jamie says and shakes her head, a slight smile playing on her lips.

Dani looks back at the men. “Your version of football makes so much more sense.”

Jamie takes a swig of her beer and nods in agreement as Dani continues. “You play with your feet. In America, it's played with your hands and a different ball. I’ve never really understood the appeal,” she says and shrugs as she takes a sip from her glass. 

The gardener sets her glass back down and lights a cigarette. She brings it to her lips and takes a long drag and the smoke swirls above her. “It’s not just a game here, it’s a way of life. Hell, to most people, it's their whole life."

“You're not a fan?”

“Don’t mind it, but never had much of a reason to get into it.”

One of the men huddled by the TV starts to shout louder than the others and shoves one of them to the side. 

“Christ, they’ve lost the plot...and lost their wages for the month I bet,” Jamie says and shakes her head. She takes another drink of beer and they watch as one of the bartenders comes over and drags the man outside.

“No violence in my pub, mate. Everyone here is havin’ a good time, take that bullshit somewhere else,” the bartender shouts. He shuts the door and everyone returns to what they were doing, totally unfazed by what just happened.

“That’s one of the reasons why I don’t give it much of my time, it’s like the end of the world when a game doesn't go your way,” Jamie says.

“Wow,” Dani replies. 

Jamie decides the men watching the game isn’t worth any more of her attention and instead she focuses it all on Dani, whose cheeks have started to turn a soft rosy hue because of the beer. She still has to pinch herself sometimes to prove that the American is real and with her. It all felt like a bit of a dream and Jamie admires the blonde’s features as she glances around at all of the different people in the pub. 

“You look beautiful tonight,” Jamie says. Dani turns to look at her then ducks her head down and shyly smiles.

“Thank you.”

Jamie puts her hand on Dani’s thigh and she looks back up at her. They lock eyes and like it always seems to do when they're together, their surroundings somehow slip away making it feel like they were the only two people in the room. 

“Well...I always think you’re beautiful but I just forgot to tell you earlier,” Jamie adds.

“You look beautiful too.”

“Nah...I didn’t really get a chance to clean up much today before heading here, definitely still ‘ave dirt on my hands.”

Dani places her hand atop Jamie’s on her thigh. “I like the way you look, dirt and all. You work hard and are proud of what you do - so what if it shows on your skin when you’re done for the day? I admire that about you, how hard you work and how often it goes unnoticed. I’m sorry if I don’t tell you enough how good I think you are at what you do.”

Each woman still has some beer left in their pint glass but it doesn’t matter, Jamie doesn’t care about the drink anymore. What she cares about is the fact that right above them is her flat and that flat has a bed and getting Dani into that bed is now the only pressing thought she has. 

“Do you want to come upstairs?”

Dani can tell by the look on her face and the look in her eyes what Jamie is thinking. “Yes,” she says.

They get up from their corner booth and head through a small door at the back of the pub into a dark hallway. They climb up a set of stairs and Jamie pulls her keys from her pocket and unlocks the door to her flat. When they step inside, she flicks on a light and locks the door. 

It’s not the first time Dani has been inside, and it definitely wouldn’t be the last. Dani is barely five feet into the place before Jamie is dragging her back into the bedroom. 

“I like it when you’re here,” Jamie says as she pulls Dani close. “You make everywhere feel more like home.”

Dani moves in and kisses Jamie. It’s innocent at first, full of admiration and fondness, but soon turns to more as Jamie pushes her forward until the back of her knees hit the edge of the bed and she falls down onto it. 

“You don’t want to go back to the manor tonight, right?” Jamie asks. 

Dani shakes her head and Jamie smirks. 

“Good.”

~~~~~~~

It’s a wet and drizzly day in Bly and Dani had planned for no in-class lessons with the children, instead, giving them work to occupy their time that day in their own space, choosing to do what they did or did not like. It was a simple way to allow herself some more time with Jamie, and the children were happy to be amongst themselves for a whole afternoon.

Jamie had been working out in the greenhouse all morning repotting some plants that were growing too big for their current ones and Dani decided she wanted to bring her some tea to help warm her up from the slight chill that would have inevitably settled itself in her bones. Memories of the first time she brought her a drink always played across her mind when she crossed the threshold and entered the space - how nervous she had been, how unsure of herself she was. But those days had come and gone and now she always knew she’d be met with a warm smile, kind eyes, and an embrace she never wanted to remove herself from. The butterflies in her stomach though, those were still there. Those were always there whenever she saw Jamie.

She didn’t make herself known at first and instead just stood in the doorway watching Jamie as she skillfully removed a plant, careful to not damage its roots. Concentration was written across her face and to most people it would seem like easy work, but Jamie cared too much about the plants to just let it be a simple task. When the plant was safely in its new pot, Jamie nodded to herself, giving herself the self-approval she always found necessary when completing a project. She picked up a small watering can and poured water over the leaves and down into the roots.

"There you go," Jamie said to herself. 

“Hey you,” Dani says, deciding now is the time to let Jamie know she was there. She walks into the greenhouse with two steaming cups in her hands and Jamie glances up from her work, her features softening at the sight of the blonde.

“Poppins,” Jamie says and smiles. “This is a nice surprise.”

“I wanted to bring you something warm to drink, it’s a bit of a chilly day and I knew you were working out here.”

Jamie eyes the cup in her hand, knowing her history with tea very well.

“Don’t worry,” Dani says and laughs a little bit. “Owen made the tea, I just carried the cups.”

“I wasn’t worried…”

Dani rolls her eyes and walks over to Jamie’s workstation and sets a cup down. “I’ll master it one day, you just wait. One day I’ll make the best cup of tea you’ve ever had.”

Jamie pulls off her work gloves and tosses them to the back of the table and smiles affectionately. “I’ll believe it when I drink it.”

“Thank you for having so much faith in me,” Dani says and feigns hurt. It doesn’t last long because Jamie reaches for her hands and takes them in her own. 

“I’m happy to see you,” Jamie says. “I figured the kids would be keeping you busy today given the weather is shite.”

“I may have selfishly given them some individual work that they didn’t need me for…”

“Oh?” Jamie asks and takes a step towards Dani, closing the gap between them. “And why is that?”

“Because I haven’t gotten to spend much time with you over the past few days and I miss you.”

Jamie looks down at Dani’s lips and then up again, her gaze meeting Dani’s. She grins. “I missed you too, Poppins.”

Dani leans in and presses a kiss to Jamie’s lips. “I also missed that,” she says and pulls back slightly.

“Did ya now? Well, I guess we have some lost time to make up for,” Jamie says. She moves aside the teacups and her pots and plants and clears a space on top of her work station. Dani is confused at first but then there are strong arms around her waist lifting her up so she’s sitting on top of the work station with Jamie standing between her legs. The movement was swift and Dani is suddenly very turned on by Jamie using her strength that way.

“The tea is going to get cold,” she says quietly as Jamie’s cool hands slip up under the hem of her sweater and brush against her skin.

“Owen can make more,” Jamie replies. She nips at Dani’s slightly exposed collarbone and then kisses up along her jaw until her lips are just a breath away from Dani’s. “I like a good brew, but I like you a hell of a lot more.”

Dani surges forward and slides her hands up in Jamie’s hair and kisses her with a fiery passion. It’s not what she had planned for when deciding to bring tea to Jamie in the greenhouse but it was impossible to ignore the way she felt in the moment with the brunette pressed so closely between her legs.

“Jamie...out here is where you work...are you sure? What if someone catches us?” Dani mumbles against her gardeners' lips.

Jamie ignores her and continues to kiss her as her hands wander across the small of her back. She bites her lip slightly and Dani lets out a quiet moan at the feeling.

A voice clears and Jamie leans back from Dani slightly. Her lips are a little red and swollen and her chest heaves slightly as her eyes land on Hannah who stands at the greenhouse entrance.

“So sorry ladies, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Hannah says.

In Dani’s seated position, her back is to Hannah so only Jamie can see her. She doesn’t need to see her face to know who the voice belongs to. Dani shuts her eyes, embarrassed that they have been caught.

“But Ms. Clayton, Flora was looking for you. She had a question about some of the work you gave her to do.”

“Right, got it. Thank you for letting me know,” Dani says. Jamie stays standing in between her legs, still pressed into her closely.

Hannah just nods, turns, and walks out of the greenhouse. 

"Oh god,” Dani says and lets her head fall onto Jamie’s shoulder. 

Jamie rests her head against Dani's chest and laughs a little bit.

“It’s not funny!” Dani shouts.

“Oh no, it is funny. Hannah just caught us with my tongue in your mouth.”

Dani leans back and looks at Jamie with wide eyes. “Jamie! Oh my god.”

“Sorry, Poppins. Don’t worry, Hannah doesn’t care. We’re both adults and she knows that.”

Jamie slides her hands around so they rest on Dani’s hips and she gently squeezes the skin she finds there. Dani loses herself again in the feeling then quickly snaps out of it knowing she has to go inside and help the kids.

“Now I have to go back to work and I’m all…” Dani doesn’t finish her sentence and closes her eyes again.

“All what?” Jamie asks curiously.

“Turned on! I’m turned on and I have to leave you and go be with the kids now.”

Jamie puts a finger under Dani’s chin and tilts her head up. Dani blinks open her eyes and they look at each other.

“I’m sure you’ve got a few minutes to spare, yeah? That’s _plenty_ of time…” Jamie says mischievously, a smirk on her face.

Dani smiles and Jamie moves her hands up under her shirt. Her fingers flutter across her rib cage and settle below the blonde’s bra. She kisses Dani again and fifteen minutes later, Dani is walking back into Bly Manor with a pep in her step and a promise to return the favour to Jamie later that night in her bed. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snapshots of Dani and Jamie's blissfully happy life together in Bly if there were no ghosts or Lady in the Lake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> People seemed to enjoy the other snapshots I wrote, so I decided to write some more! I hope this fills your heart and makes you smile!

It’s a quiet Tuesday morning when Dani walks into the kitchen at Bly Manor and finds Owen and Hannah sitting at the table drinking tea. 

“Good morning, dear,” Hannah says with a bright smile. “There’s still some tea in the pot if you’d like a cup.”

“Oh that would be great, thank you!”

Dani walks over to the counter and reaches up into the cabinet above the stove. She gets herself a cup and pours some tea into it, followed by a little milk and sugar. 

“How are the children today?” Hannah asks. 

“Good,” Dani says as she brings the cup to her lips. “We did some work with numbers in the classroom and now they’re both outside getting some fresh air.”

“Isn’t that lovely. Well, Owen was just telling me that he has to head home around noon today to take care of a few things so we’re on our own for supper.”

This piques Dani’s interest. “Is that so?”

Owen nods. “Indeed it is. But if you like, I can prepare a few things before I leave so you’re not scrambling for something to make.” He thinks to himself for a moment and then it seems as if a lightbulb goes off. “Oooh, you could have scrambled eggs.”

Hannah looks to Dani and shakes her head a little bit. 

“I have an idea,” Dani says. She sets her cup down and takes a seat beside them at the table. “What if Jamie and I make supper? I’m sure that between the two of us we can come up with something everyone will enjoy.”

“Jamie...making supper…in my kitchen.” Owen looks around the room and grimaces a little. “The last time she cooked in here, we had to toss out a very burnt grilled cheese that nearly caught on fire.”

Dani thinks back to the time in the woods when Jamie told her of the accident with her brother and the stove when she was young, she remembers waking up the next morning to see the scarred skin on Jamie’s back and wonders if that time in her life left scars in other areas of her life, like using a stove to cook. 

“But it didn’t,” Hannah adds, coming to Jamie’s defense. “She did her very best.”

“I may not be able to make a good cup of tea, but I can cook a meal. I promise,” Dani says, leaning forward in her seat with excitement. “I’ll put Jamie to work and we’ll make sure that there's enough leftovers for Owen to try the meal tomorrow.”

Hannah and Owen look at each other then back at Dani. “Alright, alright,” Owen says. “I’m trusting you to keep Jamie from doing any damage.”

At that moment, Jamie strolls into the kitchen with her hands stuffed into the pockets of her overalls. Dani’s face immediately softens at the sight of the gardener, fresh from working outside. Her curls are pulled back into a loose bun and the sleeves of her t-shirt are cuffed, exposing her strong arms. If Dani were alone in the room when she had walked in, she may have dragged her around the corner and kissed her up against the wall but because they had company, that moment would need to wait until later. 

“What kind of damage are we keeping me from?” Jamie asks. She comes to stand behind Dani’s chair, pulling her hands from her pockets and resting them on Dani’s shoulders. Dani reaches a hand up to cover one of Jamie’s with her own, she looks up at her and smiles. 

“We volunteered to make supper tonight.” Dani says.

Jamie glances between the three of them, confused. “We? As in...you and I? Why on earth would we do that?”

Owen narrows his eyes and gives Dani an unconvincing thumbs up. 

When supper time rolls around, Jamie walks into the kitchen as Dani is pulling vegetables out of the fridge. No longer wearing her overalls from earlier, she’s wearing blue jeans with a green t-shirt tucked in. 

“Alright then, Poppins. What’s on the menu?”

Dani looks up and grins at the sight of Jamie. She approaches her and puts her hands on her hips. 

“Thank you for doing this, I thought it could be fun,” she says.

Jamie rolls her eyes and considers protesting but Dani looks genuinely excited about cooking the meal, her eyes full of wonder and a smile from ear to ear. She’s far too cute to not give in.

“I’m only doing this because it’s you,” Jamie says. “I don’t really cook, so this is kind of a whole thing.”

Dani hugs her and they stay in an embrace for a minute or so, enjoying the quiet moment alone. Dani decides to follow up with her thought from earlier in the day. 

“We’ll get started in a minute but first…”

She takes Jamie’s hand in her own and pulls her around the corner and out of the line of sight of anyone walking into the kitchen from the main hall.

“What are we - “

Jamie gets cut off as Dani pushes her up against the wall and starts kissing her neck. 

“Does making supper always start with this? Because if it does, we can do it more often,” Jamie whispers as Dani kisses across her jaw. Their lips meet and Jamie smiles into the kiss, she lets herself fall into Dani and her fingers slip under the bottom hem of the blondes shirt. Just as quickly as Dani had pulled her around the corner, she steps back and licks her lips.

“Okay, so I was thinking pasta,” Dani says and walks over to the fridge, leaving Jamie open-mouthed and a little breathless against the wall. 

Jamie doesn’t do a whole lot in terms of the actual preparation of the meal, but all Dani really wanted was the company. However, the company is a little distracting and it almost results in the pasta water boiling over the side of the pot and a tray of cut vegetables falling to the floor. Jamie doesn't care about the fact that someone could walk in to find them with her hands around Dani’s waist, fingers softly moving under her sweater across her abdomen, she doesn’t care about leaving a mark on her neck as Dani cuts the greens for a salad. 

She’s...helping. In her own special way. 

When Owen arrives back at Bly the next day, Dani plates some of their meal for him. Jamie stands by her side and when Owen lets out a hum of approval upon the first bite of the food, she reaches out for her hand and holds it, a proud smile on her face.

“I must admit, I’m impressed,” Owen says. 

“I opened the jar of pasta sauce,” Jamie says. 

Owen looks at Dani and laughs. “That’s all you let her do?”

“So as it turns out, you were right. She’s really not the best at cooking,” Dani says. “And she gets easily distracted, can’t really focus on more than one task.”

Jamie just shakes her head and sighs. Owen laughs again and continues to eat the food while Dani watches on happily.

~~~~~~~

Jamie’s green truck rolls down the laneway towards the front entrance of Bly Manor and she hums to some music on the radio as it does. It’s a beautiful day, a slight breeze in the air, and not a cloud in the sky. For the first night in a week or so, she had needed to go back to her own apartment to take care of a few things and was looking forward to seeing Dani after not getting to spend the night with her. Mornings with the au pair had become something she really looked forward to, rolling over to see Dani’s messy bed-hair and sleepy morning eyes, the feeling of cuddling her close and getting her all to herself before the rest of the world got hold of her, were all things she loved. She knew a lot of people would think it was cheesy and cliche to already be so attached to Dani but she was happy and it had been a long time since she had truly felt happiness like this, the kind that makes you feel warm and cozy, the kind that makes your heart skip a beat when you think of the other person. 

The truck rolls to a stop at its usual parking spot and she hops out, continuing to hum the music from the radio as she walks into the manor. 

“Morning you lot,” she says as she enters the kitchen. She takes in her surroundings and notices someone is missing from the table. Owen, Hannah, and the children are all eating breakfast and they smile and say their good mornings. “Dani?” she says with a questioning gaze. 

Flora points above their heads. “Ms. Clayton wasn’t feeling well this morning. She didn’t come to our rooms to make sure we had brushed our teeth so Ms. Grose knocked on her door, but she didn’t want to come to have breakfast.”

Jamie narrows her eyes and looks at Hannah. “She alright?”

“I’m afraid Ms. Clayton has come down with a bit of a cold,” Hannah says. 

Jamie leaves them to their breakfast and takes the servants' staircase up to the second floor. She gets to Dani’s bedroom door and lightly raps her knuckles against it. 

“Poppins,” she says. “You alright?”

A quiet cough comes from inside the room and Jamie opens the door. Dani is laying in the bed looking so small and fragile, sunk down into the covers. Her body shakes as she coughs and sniffles and Jamie’s heart breaks a little bit at the sight of the woman looking so ill. 

“Dani,” Jamie says, coming to sit on the edge of the bed. 

“Jamie,” Dani replies, her voice hoarse and barely above a whisper. “I missed you.”

Jamie puts her hand on Dani’s forehead and feels how warm and clammy it is, a fever for certain. The blonde coughs again and Jamie brushes some hair off her face behind her ear.

“Not doing so well today, are we?”

“I’m feeling better now that you’re here.”

Dani tries to pull herself up in the bed but starts coughing again and Jamie guides her back down under the covers. “Shh, it’s okay. You’ve caught yourself a bit of a cold, Poppins. This bed is the only place you’ll be today.”

Dani wipes her nose and shakes her head. “No, I can’t, the kids.”

“Don’t worry about that, there are three other adults in this house and I’m sure we can handle them without you for one day. I’m going to go get you something to drink and some medicine, okay?”

She cups Dani’s cheek and she nestles her face against her hand. “Mmm, okay.” Her eyes close again and her breathing settles a little bit. 

When Jamie makes her way back into the kitchen, everyone looks to her for an update on Dani. 

“She definitely has a cold, probably best if she sticks to her bed today so no one else catches it. I’m going to bring her a few things and then head outside and you two gremlins,” Jamie says coming to stand behind Miles and Flora, “are spending the day with me.”

Miles and Flora perk up when they hear this, excited at the idea of spending their day out in the garden with Jamie and not in the classroom. 

“Oh, I can spend the day with the children, Jamie,” Hannah says. 

Jamie shakes her head. “Nah, it’s all good. It’s too nice of a day for them to be in here anyway, besides - I’ve got a couple of things to take care of that’ll keep them busy for a while. Are you both up for that?”

The kids nod with big smiles on their faces. 

“And I was already planning on making us all some chicken soup for lunch which should be good for Dani,” Owen says.

“Perfect,” Jamie says. “Miles, Flora, go change out of those clothes and into something that can get dirty and meet me out by the church in fifteen minutes.”

Jamie makes her way back to Dani’s room with supplies in hand and finds Dani in the same position she was when she left her. The sight of the woman fills Jamie’s heart and she wants to crawl into the bed beside her and stay with her until she feels better, but she knows that spending time with the kids was what Dani needed her to do. 

“Here, take these,” Jamie says as she sits back down on the edge of the bed. Dani slowly blinks open her eyes and smiles at the sight of Jamie. 

“You’re back,” she says. 

Jamie’s heart does a little flip flop in her chest as she looks at Dani, still so beautiful even when sick. “I’m back, and you need to take these for me, okay? It’ll help make you feel better.”

Dani coughs again but manages to sit up just enough to accept the pills and a glass of water from Jamie’s hands. She pops the pills into her mouth and drinks some water then swallows. Jamie reaches into her back pocket and pulls out some tissues and sets them down on the bedside table along with the water. 

“Hannah will bring you some tea and some soup in about an hour, yeah? Just rest now.”

Dani nods and lays back down. Jamie pulls the covers up so they’re covering Dani’s shoulder and she places a gentle kiss on her forehead. 

“Thank you,” Dani says.

By the time Jamie makes it outside, Miles and Flora are running circles around one another by the old tombstones. She almost regrets deciding to take on the babysitting responsibilities for the day until Flora spots her and smiles a smile that beams brighter than the sun.

“So what are we doing today, Jamie?” the young girl asks. 

“Great question,” Jamie says, not exactly knowing what to say. If she were honest, she didn’t have much of a plan. She did need some help, that much was true, but would it be of any value to the kids? She wasn’t sure. “How would you both like to help me put together some flower arrangements for inside the house? You know the ones I always have in the front hall and in the parlor, and maybe you can pick out some special flowers for Ms. Grose and Ms. Clayton. We can do it together.”

There were some flowers that needed to be cut...and she did need to bring new arrangements into the house...this time they’d just be a little less finessed than usual.

“That sounds wonderful!” Flora replies. “I love flowers.”

As it turns out, the kids were far better company than Jamie expected. They were far smarter than she usually gave them credit for and were good listeners and picked up on things quickly. But, they also asked a lot of questions. Some that Jamie wasn’t entirely sure how to answer.

“Is Ms.Clayton your best friend?” Flora asks as she ties some ribbon around a handful of daisies. 

The three of them are sitting outside the greenhouse on the grass with flowers and tools spread out around them. 

“She must be,” Miles adds. “Your best friend is who you spend the most time with and Jamie spends most of her time with Ms. Clayton.”

Jamie smiles and looks in the direction of the house. She thinks of Dani and the answer is easy, yes. Dani is her best friend and that was something she hadn’t had in a long time, maybe never. But Dani was also so much more than that. Dani felt like her heart, her home. 

“She is my best friend,” Jamie says. 

“Ms. Clayton makes you happy,” Flora says with a smile. 

Jamie nods in agreement and trims the stems of a few roses. “She makes me very happy, I’m lucky to have her in my life and here at Bly.”

“I think Owen is my best friend,” Flora adds, and almost as if on cue, Owen rounds the corner of the greenhouse with a tray of drinks in his hands. 

“Well look at this,” he says as he sets the tray down on the ground. “A flower factory.”

“We’re putting together bouquets to go inside the house,” Miles says. 

“Looks like very hard work and hard work deserves lemonade.”

Jamie winks at Owen and he smiles. “Thanks, mate,” she says.

“My pleasure! Please enjoy, I won’t keep you for long. Just wanted to bring this out and let you know that Ms. Clayton ate some soup and then went back to sleep.”

“I hope she feels better,” Miles says. 

Owen ruffles the young boy's hair and turns on his heels, heading back towards the house. 

The afternoon rolled by and Jamie realized how much she had truly enjoyed being outside with the kids. After finishing the bouquets, they somehow ended up in an intense game of tag that finished with Jamie collapsing on the ground with Flora on top of her. 

“I win!” Flora shouts. 

Jamie laughs and hugs the little girl. “You won, fair and square. I’m just too old to keep up with you!”

As the sun started to dip lower in the sky - Jamie, Flora, and Miles all walked into Bly with their arms full of flowers. They place a bouquet in the main hall, one in the parlour, and one in the dining room. Jamie stays by the main stairs as Miles and Flora disappear towards the kitchen calling out for Hannah, excited to surprise her with their flowers. 

Jamie holds a bouquet in her own hands, the one they had put together for Dani and she climbs the main staircase. She holds the flowers behind her back and opens Dani’s bedroom door, surprised by the sight she is met with. 

“Hey you,” Dani says. She’s sitting up in the bed, hair pulled up into a loose and messy ponytail. 

“How are you feeling?” Jamie asks. 

Dani takes a long deep breath. She scratches her nose and shrugs. “I feel better, not great, but better. I’m happy to see you.”

Jamie smiles and approaches the bed. “I have something for you,” she says. She holds out the flowers and Dani’s eyes widen in surprise. 

“They’re beautiful! Are these from your garden?” 

“They are. But I can’t take all the credit, Miles and Flora helped me decide which flowers to cut today and nearly every room downstairs has a bouquet in it now.”

“You let Miles and Flora help you in the garden?” Dani asks. Jamie hands her the flowers and she happily accepts.

Jamie sits on the edge of the bed and nods. “Spent the day outside with those two today. We worked with flowers, drank lemonade, and then I horribly lost a game of tag. Never should have agreed to it, knew I wouldn’t win but it's apparently very hard to say no to those faces when they’re looking up at you all wide-eyed.”

Dani didn't know what to say. Her heart filled with pride at the image of Jamie playing outside with Miles and Flora. It wasn’t something the gardener had to do, but she chose to do it because she knew it would give Dani the chance to rest. She chose to do it because she knew it would make Dani happy, knowing the kids got to do something fun and different. She also knew that both kids thought Jamie was - as Flora put it - the coolest, so to spend the time with her probably made their day. 

“Come here,” Dani says. She sets the flowers aside and reaches out for Jamie who gladly obliges and scoots in closer, wrapping her arms around the au pair. “Thank you.”

“I’m so relieved to know that you’re feeling better,” Jamie says. “I was a little scared when I saw you this morning to be honest, I considered climbing into the bed beside you and never letting go.”

Dani laughs and pulls back slightly to look into Jamie’s eyes. They almost seem to sparkle and she loses herself in them for a moment. “Will you stay tonight?” she asks, a little unsure about the idea in fear of getting Jamie sick.

“As if I would leave you like this, Poppins. You’re stuck with me.”

~~~~~~~

Dani never really told anyone that it was her birthday. She herself had sort of forgotten about it and expected the day to pass just like many other days at Bly had passed by. She had settled into a wonderful life surrounded by wonderful people and had been the happiest she had ever been in her entire life. 

It was refreshing to feel so comfortable, so at peace, so settled. She had carved herself a place in the lives of everyone at Bly, and they were thrilled to have her. The kids were happy, Owen and Hannah were happy, and Jamie - god, Jamie. She was over the moon. Both women had been lonely for so long, but had never been willing or honest enough to admit it, so when they found each other it was as if the seas parted and something clicked. Once they gave in to each other, there was no turning back. They were both all in, whole heartedly, ready to give everything for the other. 

And what Jamie was going to give Dani that day was a surprise party for her birthday. While cleaning up some things in the bedroom one day, Jamie found Dani’s passport and made a mental note to remember her date of birth so she could do something nice for her when the day came. And the day had come, and with it, there would be a party. It wouldn't have many guests, only the small group of them at the manor but it was enough. Dani was worth celebrating and everyone else had agreed. She had secretly been getting the kids to make decorations out of different coloured paper for weeks and had sent Owen into town to get balloons. The plan would be to decorate the kitchen and surprise Dani as she walked in for dinner, hopefully being none the wiser to the whole thing. The meal would be her favourite, followed by a special cake baked by Owen with the help of the children. 

Hannah would keep Dani busy to ensure she wouldn’t come to the kitchen early and if all went well, it would be totally unexpected. Jamie knew Dani wouldn’t want gifts, the surprise alone would be more than enough for her. But Jamie had her own present for Dani, one that was meant to be seen only by her in the privacy of a locked bedroom upstairs. That would come much later. 

Jamie walks into the kitchen as Owen helps Flora tape the last of some paper flowers up to the wall. Miles is tying some balloons to the back of each of the chairs and Jamie smiles widely at the sight of the festive space. The walls are covered in bright decorations made by Miles and Flora and the room was perfectly suited for the celebration of someone they all appreciated dearly. 

“This looks amazing!” she says.

“Do you think Ms.Clayton will like it?” Flora asks.

“I think she’s going to love it,” Jamie replies. “How’s dinner, Owen?”

“Dinner is just about ready and by my watch, Hannah will probably be in here with Dani in a few minutes so we best pack up all the tape and scissors and get ready to yell surprise.”

Together as a team they clean up the rest of the room and finish all the last minute touches and each take their place out of sight from the main kitchen entrance. Flora quietly giggles as she hears Dani and Hannah’s voice float down the hall. 

“Everyone just sort of disappeared today,” they hear Dani say, her voice getting louder the closer she gets to the kitchen. 

“It has felt like a bit of an off day, hasn’t it?” Hannah asks. 

Just then, Hannah and Dani round the corner and walk into the kitchen. 

“SURPRISE!” they all shout. 

Dani is taken aback, a stunned expression on her face. 

“Happy Birthday, Ms.Clayton!” Miles and Flora say excitedly as they rush over to give Dani a hug. 

“How did you know?” Dani asks, her eyes wide in wonder as she looks around the room, taking in the decorations and the smiling faces. When her eyes land on Jamie, she knows the answer to her own question. 

“Happy Birthday, Poppins,” Jamie says. 

The kids let go of Dani and go to help Owen bring out the food for dinner. Hannah joines them and Jamie walks up to Dani who still stands in the doorway to the kitchen. 

“I hope this is okay, I sort of accidentally discovered when your birthday was and thought you deserved a little something to celebrate it. You’re worth celebrating, Dani.”

“Jamie...I...I don’t even know what to say.”

Jamie kisses Dani on the cheek and squeezes her hand. “You don’t have to say anything, I just hope you’re happy.”

“Excuse me madam birthday girl,” Owen says as he, Hannah, and the children set all of the food down on the table. “Dinner is served.”

“Wow,” Dani says, taking her seat at the table. Flora hands her a crown made out of paper and she places it on top of her head. “You guys did all of this, just for me?”

“Of course Ms. Clayton,” Miles says. “You can’t have a birthday without a birthday party!”

The meal proceeds and their time spent enjoying it is full of jokes, laughter, smiles, and Jamie’s hand on Dani’s thigh. Jamie can hardly take her eyes off Dani for most of the night, watching as her nose scrunches up a little when she laughs, committing to memory the way her eyes shine when she smiles. She softly strokes Dani’s thigh with her hand and at one point Dani turns to look at her and their eyes lock. A silent conversation between them that says so much. A silent conversation that says thank you, I’m so lucky to have you, and I can’t wait to have you upstairs in your bed. 

After the plates are cleared from the meal, Owen disappears with Miles and Flora in tow and returns a minute later with a big two tier pink birthday cake decorated with beautiful flowers that had been piped on with icing. The candles sitting atop of it are lit and they all begin to sing Happy Birthday. 

Dani’s heart swells and when she blows out the candles, she doesn’t wish for anything, knowing that the people surrounding her right now are far better than anything she could wish for, especially the woman beside her who had come into her life and changed it in the most extraordinary ways. 

Later that night, Dani and Jamie walk into Dani’s bedroom and Jamie locks the door behind them. She wraps her arms around Dani’s waist and kisses her slowly and tenderly. Dani moans and Jamie tugs her closer. 

“Happy Birthday,” she says against Dani’s lips. 

“It really was,” Dani replies. “The happiest of birthdays. I don’t know how I got so lucky.”

Jamie brushes her nose against Dani and kisses her again then walks them back towards the bed. “I’d say we’re the lucky ones,” she says as she pulls Dani down with her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snapshots of Dani and Jamie's blissfully happy life together in Bly if there were no ghosts or Lady in the Lake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love writing these and I hope people are enjoying them! 
> 
> And please let me know if anyone has any ideas of little moments they may want to see as I’d be happy to write them! x

Summer had lazily made its way to Bly and it was warm, lush, and wonderful. The sunshine had put everyone in a cheerful mood, more so than usual. Long days were spent outside soaking up every ounce of light that the day had to offer and Jamie had never been more grateful for the warmer weather because to her delight, it meant getting to see a whole lot more of Dani on a regular basis and she had no shame in admitting it. 

Dani had a penchant for sundresses and Jamie often found herself getting distracted by the sight of long legs and bare shoulders whenever she saw her. The sun had naturally lightened her hair making it even more golden and had given her a dusting of freckles across her nose and chest that were absolutely irresistible. 

Dani was feeling a similar way about what summer gave her of Jamie. Jamie’s soft curls were usually pulled up out of her face with a bandana and the warmer days meant her toned arms were much more visible than they had ever been during the colder months. Her hard work in the garden under the hot sun would leave sweat dripping down her neck and Dani would have to try her very best to focus on the children when outside in close proximity to Jamie because the image of the brunette cooling herself with a damp towel to the chest lit a fire inside Dani that was never extinguished until she and Jamie somehow found themselves alone. 

Luckily, they had gotten very good at finding alone time for themselves and Jamie’s greenhouse had become somewhat of a private oasis for them, as they weren’t often disturbed save for a few occurrences here and there. Dani would come and watch Jamie work, would bring her lemonade, and sometimes help her with a few of the smaller plants that were getting ready to go out onto the grounds somewhere. 

On one particularly hot day, Dani found herself sitting on a blanket in the back garden of Bly while Miles and Flora chased each other around while blowing some bubbles. Dani smiled, happily enjoying the peaceful time in the sunshine with the joyful kids. What she was also getting to enjoy was the sight of Jamie walking in and out of the greenhouse on the other side of the lawn wearing an outfit that exposed much more skin than Dani usually got to see. They hadn’t yet seen each other that day and Dani was able to admire her from afar as she worked. Later, once the children had grown tired of the sun and made their way back into the manor, Dani wandered into the greenhouse to get out of the direct sun and to see Jamie. 

When she walked in she was met with something that brought her body temperature up even more than the heat of the day itself. Jamie was bent over a tray of flowers and in the cutoff shorts she was wearing, Dani had quite the view from her position in the entryway. Jamie, who was unaware of Dani’s presence, stood and pulled a well-worn band t-shirt up over her head, leaving her in a fitted tank top without a bra. Jamie used the t-shirt to wipe sweat from her brow and tossed it aside. As she did, she noticed Dani out of the corner of her eye but decided to play along and act as though she was still alone. Why not show off for the gorgeous blonde in the pretty yellow sundress by the door? A sundress with a delicate floral pattern that fell to above the knee, a dress that didn’t leave much to the imagination. 

Jamie bends again and picks up a potted plant, lifting it onto a nearby shelf above her head, and in doing so, exposes her stomach as her tank top rises up. Years of the physical labour that came with gardening had turned Jamie’s slender body into a strong and toned one, something one wouldn’t suspect when she was more clothed. But in the summer? In the summer she was unabashedly able to show it off and right now Dani was getting a front-row seat to that show. 

Dani bites her lip and brings a hand up to her chest, placing it over her heart. She often still found herself surprised by the physical reaction she got from simply admiring Jamie - how her pulse would quicken, how her mouth would go dry, how a tightness would build in a part of her that she had truly only discovered with Jamie. 

Finally, Jamie decides to break the silence and acknowledge Dani.

“Enjoying the view, Ms. Clayton?” she asks, not turning around to face her. 

“Just admiring all of your hard and very important work,” Dani replies. She smirks and leans against the doorframe. 

Jamie looks over her shoulder at Dani by the door. “Gonna stand there all day or do you fancy coming over here?”

Dani doesn’t need to be asked twice and she moves away from the door and walks deeper into the greenhouse. Jamie turns around and leans against one of the tables covered in greenery. She watches every step Dani takes, and her eyes never move away, not even for a moment. 

When Dani comes to stand in front of her, Jamie smiles and reaches out for her hands. She pulls her close and the subtle yet familiar summer scent of sunscreen wafts over her. Dani’s pale skin has turned a soft bronze from her time in the sun and she seems to have a glow about her. 

“You know I love it when you come to visit me,” Jamie says. 

Dani smiles as she moves in even closer to Jamie than she already was. Their bodies are nearly flush and she looks into Jamie’s sparkling blue eyes, admiring the tenderness she finds in them. “I could watch you work all day long...especially in clothes like this.”

Jamie laughs a little bit and puts a hand around Dani’s waist, letting it come to rest on the small of her back. 

“Get’s warm in here, Poppins. Need to find some way to stay cool.”

“Stripping down to next to nothing is definitely one way to do it.”

“You got a new dress.”

Dani nods and her eyes flick to Jamie’s lips then back up. “I took Flora and Miles into town for some ice cream the other day and saw it in the window of a store. I thought it was too pretty to leave it behind.”

“It’s beautiful,” Jamie says. She lets her eyes rake over Dani’s body and takes in how the dress seems to cling to her in all of the right places. _How easy it would be to slide those thin straps down her shoulders_ , Jamie thinks. 

“Thank you,” Dani replies, her voice hushed. 

“Summer suits you.”

Dani can’t take it any longer and she leans forward, capturing Jamie’s lips in a kiss that makes her whole body tingle. Jamie lets her thigh slip between Dani’s legs and then in a moment their positions are reversed and Dani is the person with her back to the table. Jamie deepens the kiss and Dani hums into her mouth. 

Jamie moves her lips from Dani’s and kisses across her jaw and then down her neck and across her collarbone. She kisses back up her neck and places a soft kiss below Dani’s ear. 

“You are very distracting, ya know that?” she says breathily into Dani’s ear. 

Dani squirms a little bit and she brings her hand up and cups Jamie’s face, pulling her back so they’re level with each other. She surges forward and kisses her again and they stay like that for a few minutes. Hands wander and delicate fingers leave hot trails of want and need across every inch of unclothed skin and when Jamie slips her hands up under the hem of Dani’s flowing dress, the blonde moans against her lips and falls against her a little more. 

“I really do love summer,” Jamie says, smirking as she kisses Dani again.

~~~~~~~

There weren’t many traditions at Bly, but the ones that did exist had become quite special. Flora and Miles had storytime and the adults? Well, the adults had game night. And game night could sometimes get a little wild. Game night usually came with alcohol and raised voices and deep laughter. How a game like Scrabble could become quite so heated, Dani didn’t know. But there she was, sitting at the table in the kitchen beside Jamie across from Owen and Hannah, listening as Owen tries to defend his word choice - doing everything he can to try and convince them that his letters on the board, ones spelling out ‘valicious’, were in fact valid. 

“That’s not a real word, mate,” Jamie says.

“It most definitely is,” he replies.

Dani sips from a glass of wine and laughs as Jamie shakes her head. 

“You’ve lost the plot,” Jamie says as she lets her hand under the table slide onto Dani’s thigh. She strokes the skin softly and Dani smiles. 

“It means rapidly fast, quick, speedy,” Owen says. 

Hannah rolls her eyes. “Velocious.”

Owen looks at her, confused. “Velocious?”

“Yes,” Hannah says. “That’s the word you mean. Velocious.”

“Told ya, valicious isn’t a real word,” Jamie replies. 

Owen looks between the three women and slowly picks his letters up off the board. “Yea…so velocious may have been what I meant.”

Now it was Dani’s turn to put some pieces down on the board. She scans the words already played and double checks the letters in front of her. She places a piece on the board and the others clue in on the points she racks up for herself. 

“Oh, well-done dear,” Hannah says. 

Jamie turns to look at Dani who proudly smiles. “Poppins, a triple word score. Brilliant. Bet Owen wishes he was able to go with that and not valicious.”

Owen picks up a gin and tonic and takes a drink then shakes his head and leans back in his seat. 

“I have a way with words,” Dani says. She feels Jamie’s hand slide across her leg closer to the inside of her thigh and she looks to her. Their eyes meet and for a moment, the rest of the room slips away. 

“Can’t deny that,” Jamie says, smirking slightly. 

“Who do I have to slip a bill to so we can get valicious into the dictionary?” Owen asks, his voice pulling them from their own little bubble. 

Jamie looks at him and narrows her eyes. “It’s going to take more than a fiver for that to happen. Besides, what would that word even mean?”

“Let it go, sweetheart,” Hannah says. She pats him on the shoulder and stands. “Anyone for a brew?”

Everyone nods and Hannah goes about making a pot of tea. Dani takes a drink from her glass of wine again and Jamie turns and kisses her shoulder. 

“Next time we’re playing monopoly,” Owen says. 

Dani’s eyes widen at the mention of the game. “I love monopoly! I always win.”

“Do ya now?” Jamie asks. 

“I can get pretty competitive...and have maybe lost friends for a few days because of it.”

“Nevermind,” Owen says, standing. Both Dani and Jamie look at him. “Remind me to try and find a game I can win. I’d like to see one of you try to make a better cake than me. And you’ve all had my cake. It’s incredible.” 

Owen leaves the table and goes to assist Hannah with the cups of tea. Jamie turns her attention back to Dani, her hand still resting on her thigh.

“So...just how competitive are we talking, Poppins?”

Dani shrugs slightly and innocently smiles. “I like to win. And I do whatever it takes to win. I like to take control of the board.”

Jamie purses her lips and takes a long deep breath. She leans into Dani and brings her lips to her ear. “I like it when you take control,” she whispers. 

Dani doesn’t get a chance to respond because two cups of tea are set down in front of them. Owen and Hannah slip back into their seats across the table Jamie takes her hand off Dani’s thigh and settles back into her own chair. 

“Right then,” Jamie says. “My turn. And I’m looking to score big.”

~~~~~~~

Nights with Jamie were one of Dani’s most favourite things in the whole world. Ever since the first night they had spent together, she knew that sleeping alone wasn’t something she wanted to do anymore. The feeling of having Jamie beside her, the calm peace she felt, the safety that came with it, it was unlike anything she had experienced and she cherished it. When she was with Edmund, she would do everything she could to keep herself to her own side of the bed, to put a wall up between them somehow, to give herself breathing room. But she wanted the exact opposite with Jamie. With Jamie she wanted tangled limbs, a hand around her midsection, soft lips exhaling quiet breaths against her neck. Closeness in every way. With Jamie, she found comfort in all of that. How different it was from everything she had known before Jamie. But that’s how she looked at her life now; before Jamie and after Jamie. The after was far, far better. 

When Jamie would stay over at Bly or when Dani would find herself in Jamie’s bed above the pub, they drifted towards each other in every way. Dani would always have to remind herself that yes, it was all real. Yes, Jamie wanted to be there with her. Yes, Jamie was just as intoxicated by her as she was of Jamie. It was all real. Yet some nights she would wake up and look around the room and wonder if she was still asleep, still lost somewhere in a dream, afraid that she’d find herself back in the life that filled her with dread and unhappiness. Afraid of being pulled from a place where she’d finally been able to live authentically, a place where she realized she could love someone in the way her body craved, in the only way that ever truly felt right. Most of the time she could simply fall back asleep, letting the comforting scent of her favourite person lull her back into slumber but sometimes Jamie would stir in her sleep and wake to find Dani alert beside her. This was one of those times. 

“Poppins, you alright?” Jamie asks, her words quiet in the silence of the room. 

Dani doesn’t respond at first, but when Jamie strokes her arm, she turns to meet the careful gaze of the woman beside her. 

“Hmm?”

“You alright?” Jamie asks again. 

Dani takes a deep breath and nods her head. “Yea.”

Jamie doesn’t buy it. She brings a hand up to Dani’s face and cups her cheek. “You’re sure?”

“Can’t sleep I guess,” Dani replies. 

“Want to talk about it?” 

Dani shakes her head and slides deeper down into the bed, almost disappearing under the blankets. “It’s silly.”

“Dani, you can talk to me. About anything.” Jamie follows her down under the blankets and seeks out her hands. She entwines their fingers and looks at Dani. “Talk to me.”

Light from the moonlit sky pours into the room through the window and casts a long shadow across the floor. There’s just enough light for Jamie to be able to trace the lines of Dani’s face with her eyes and she can sense that something is weighing heavily on her mind. 

“I’m scared,” Dani whispers. 

It’s not what Jamie expects to hear and at first, she’s unsure how to respond but then Dani looks at her like the world might crumble around them and she knows she has to say something. Say anything. 

“Of what?”

“Of losing this.”

“Oh, Poppins.”

Dani looks away again, she looks everywhere but at Jamie. She shuts her eyes and focuses on her breathing - in, out. In, out. She knows it's a silly thing to admit, a vulnerable thing to admit. But Jamie lets her be vulnerable. Jamie lets her be honest. Jamie lets her be everything she’s ever wanted to be. 

“It just feels too good to be true sometimes...being here with you.”

Jamie gently squeezes her hand and nods. “I feel the same way.”

Dani opens her eyes and looks at Jamie. “You do?”

“Of course,” Jamie says. “I was alone for such a long time. I’ve been here at Bly with the kids, Owen, Hannah...but I’ve been alone. And loneliness...loneliness can eat you alive.”

“Yea...yea it can,” Dani replies. She’s all too familiar with loneliness. She knows it inside and out. It’s a feeling that had kept her up at night many times while a man she would never love in the way he expected had slept beside her, none the wiser. Loneliness had become something she just assumed she would always feel, it was a persistent ache in her chest that made it harder and harder to have hope for a moment in her life when she might truly find happiness, find more for herself. But she had. She did.

“But...” Jamie says, “then you showed up and for the first time in I don’t know how long, I didn’t feel lonely anymore. I’ll be honest, I never thought I’d be lucky enough to get all of this with you, I would have settled for just having you in my life in some way, but this is so much better. I know how lucky I am, Dani. How lucky we are.”

“How do you do that?”

Jamie smiles. “Do what?”

“You somehow know exactly what to say. Always.”

“I’m just honest.”

Dani snuggles in closer to Jamie and rests her head on her chest. The sound of her heartbeat is calming and Jamie lifts a hand to Dani’s head and begins to stroke her hair. 

“I’m not going anywhere, Poppins. You’re stuck with me now, ya know that right?”

“You’re the only person I want to be stuck with,” Dani says. 

Jamie laughs and kisses the top of Dani’s head. “Feel a bit better now?”

Dani lifts her head and her eyes meet Jamie’s. She nods and smiles then drops her head back down and hugs Jamie close, as closely as she can. She slips her legs between Jamie’s and closes her eyes. 

“You make everything better.”

“Sleep,” Jamie whispers. “I promise I’ll still be here when the sun rises.”

And sleep is exactly what Dani does. It doesn’t take long for her to drift back into slumber, with Jamie not long behind her. Jamie lets herself feel the evening out of Dani’s breath before she allows herself go back to sleep. She thinks about the woman in her arms - how strong and brave she is, but how small and fragile she could be. Jamie never wanted to let anything break her and she made a silent promise to herself in that moment, a promise to do everything she could to make sure nothing ever did. 

When Dani wakes in the morning, Jamie is still holding her close, as though letting her go would be the most terrible thing to ever happen. Dani admires the tranquil look on Jamie’s face. Her lips are parted slightly and the faint sound of her breathing seems to fill the room. Dani thinks about kissing her but then Jamie smiles and she know she’s been caught watching her sleep. 

“You’re staring, Poppins,” she says. 

Dani laughs a little bit and slips her hand up under the bottom of Jamie’s sleep shirt and lets it rest on her bare stomach. 

“Am I?”

Jamie yawns and opens her eyes. She moves her own hand up under her shirt and places it on top of Dani’s. 

“Good morning,” Dani says. 

“Told ya I’d still be here,” Jamie replies, her accent thick, voice still laced with sleep. 

Dani loved mornings with Jamie just as much as nights with her. She loved the soft morning light as it washed over them, how warm she geld cradled into Jamie, how nothing mattered beyond the four walls of her bedroom. Not yet at least. Dani sinks deeper into Jamie and the brunette hums at the sensation of their legs tangling together once again, the sensation of Dani’s fingers tracing gentle patterns across her skin. For a little while longer they would get to exist alone together before the rest of the manor woke up and pulled them apart. Together was where they always wanted to be.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snapshots of Dani and Jamie's blissfully happy life together in Bly if there were no ghosts or Lady in the Lake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you lovely people enjoy these new snaphots! One of them was suggested to me by user LaurysPrince in a comment on the last chapter and I hope I've done it justice!
> 
> Enjoy! x

It’s unplanned, how it happens. They had just naturally grown to be such big parts of each other’s lives that it never felt necessary to put a label on it. Their instinctual pull towards one another and the undeniable chemistry they’ve had since the first day they met meant that once Dani and Jamie did finally come together, _and come together they did_ , it was simply an unspoken reality.

But then one day Dani realized that she wants to say it, out loud, what Jamie is to her. What they are. She decides that it matters and she hopes that Jamie thinks it matters too. She had spent so much of her life suppressing who she really was, going about her days in a constant state of guilt and fear, afraid to come to terms with the truth about herself. And now? Well, for quite a while to be honest, Jamie helped all of that guilt and fear fade away just by being there. By being _her_. She was proud of herself and the new life she had built, and proud to share it with a person like Jamie. Proud to stand beside someone so kind and supportive. 

Edmund had always made her feel like her own hopes and wants were second to his, that she could have them of course, but why need to act on them when he could provide? Jamie made her feel like she could take on the whole world before lunch. Jamie made her feel like her dreams mattered more than anything. 

So it slips out one day, it rolls off of her tongue like her own name. It’s easy to say and it sounds...no, it feels, like home. Dani and Jamie are getting ready to go to bed and are moving about Dani’s bedroom in the manor like they had always existed there side by side. As if it were simply the way it had always been. Jamie moved between her own apartment and the comfort of the manor consistently, but the latter had started to grow into more of a home for her as well. 

It’s a quiet night and there’s a comfortable silence in the room as Jamie disappears into the bathroom to brush her teeth while Dani pulls back the covers on the bed. When Jamie steps out of the bathroom, she’s changed out of her coveralls and cuffed t-shirt and is pulling one of Dani’s knit sweaters over her head. 

Dani stops what she’s doing and looks at Jamie, completely mesmerized by the sight of the woman putting on her clothes. Once the sweater is over her head and covering her torso, Jamie looks up to meet Dani’s curious and endearing gaze. Not only is she wearing Dani’s sweater, but her bare legs are on display and Dani loved her bare legs. 

“What you looking at, Poppins? Something on my face?”

Dani shakes her head and smiles and Jamie notices her eyes flick down to the clothing she’s wearing. 

“Ah, the jumper. Yeah, hope ya don’t mind. I’ve been a bit chilled today and these always look so warm. Thought, if Poppins can wear it, so can I.”

“I don’t mind,” Dani replies. She shakes herself out of her stupor and resumes her act of getting the bed ready, finally looking away from Jamie. “I just didn’t think I’d enjoy the sight of my girlfriend in my clothes so much.”

She realizes it right away, what she’s said. Recognizes that they haven’t had that conversation quite yet because they hadn’t needed to, but there was no time like the present and presently Dani was starting to slightly panic. 

Dani quickly looks back up at Jamie, who stands before her with shining eyes and a beaming smile. _God, she really is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen_ , Dani thinks. 

“Girlfriend, hmm?” Jamie says.

“I....uh...I meant to say the sight of my...Jamie. The sight of you in my clothes.”

Dani looks away now, worrying that maybe she’s overstepped the mark. How can she be blamed for it though when it really had come out on its own. So easy to say, intuitive, organic. 

“Is that what you want?” Jamie asks. 

Dani looks at her again and bites her lip. She nods slightly and Jamie rounds the bed so they’re standing closer. A conversation like this can’t have distance.

“But if you don’t...” Dani says, her words trailing off for a moment so she can steady herself. “If you don’t want to call this anything, we don’t have to. Not yet. Ever, if that’s what you want.”

Jamie reaches out for her hands and she brings them to her lips, kissing Dani’s knuckles. 

“Dani, what I want is you. And nothing would make me happier than being your girlfriend. I’d be a right fool if I didn’t want that.”

“Really?”

Jamie nods and lets go of Dani’s hands. She slides her arms around her waist and tugs her forward so their bodies are irresistibly close.

“Really. I mean, come on. Dani Clayton, have you seen yourself?”

Dani ducks her head shyly, still adjusting to the compliments and terms of endearment that Jamie often gives her. They fall around her like glitter and make her feel like she’s floating. 

“Anyone who wouldn’t want that is a bit dodgy in my opinion.” 

She laughs and Jamie brings a hand up to her chin and gently lifts it so their eyes are level once more. She smiles again and instantly relaxes.

“You’re my girlfriend,” Dani says, her voice quiet but full of hope. 

It was a simple statement in essence, but to Dani, it was so much more than that. It was pure and honest and genuine. She’d never made a statement that felt quite so true, that felt like it fit the way that one did. 

Jamie kisses her and they fall back onto the bed laughing. Jamie straddles Dani’s waist and hovers over her, gazing down adoringly at the woman below her. 

“So,” Jamie says, leaning down to place soft kisses on Dani’s forehead, her eyelids, her nose. “How do you feel?”

Dani stares up at her girlfriend and grins. “I’ve never felt more alive.”

Their lips meet in a lazy kiss and they both hum at the feeling. It’s the kind of kiss that leaves you feeling a little dizzy when it’s over but it’s dizziness you crave. 

Dani lets her hands disappear under the fabric of her sweater as it hangs off Jamie’s frame. Her fingers trace the warm skin and she grips the hem. 

“I do really love seeing my girlfriend wearing my clothes. But, I’d love it even more if I got to take them off of her.”

Jamie smirks at Dani’s boldness, loving whenever the blonde took control. She sits up and Dani follows her movements. She pulls the sweater up over Jamie’s head and tosses it to the side and puts an arm around her back to hold her steady in their position, with Jamie practically sitting in Dani’s lap.

“I really fancy this whole girlfriend's thing,” Jamie says and kisses Dani again. 

Nothing is different, except everything is different. Now when Dani thinks of Jamie, she thinks, _my girlfriend_. She thinks, _my partner_. She thinks, _I could love this woman...I already do._

~~~~~~~

Rain pours down from the sky in Bly as the rain had never fallen before. The wind rips through the trees on the grounds and makes the whole manor shake viciously. It seemed to have sprung up out of nowhere, and Jamie had to rush inside to save herself from being washed away. She had been right in the final stages of planning a new rose garden. A beautiful, beautiful rose garden. One that she was secretly planting especially for Dani. It was located in a more secluded section of the grounds and was going to be a tranquil place the au pair could disappear to on her own when she wanted some private fresh air. It was meant to be a surprise, and the flowers had already begun to bloom. 

Jamie rushes through one of the back doors of Bly Manor, her clothing clinging to her frame. 

“Fucking Christ,” Jamie mutters as she tears off her jacket and rings water out of it. Thunder cracks in the sky outside and she sighs, knowing that all of the hard work she had been putting in on the garden is probably being ripped to shreds.

Jamie makes her way through the kitchen and heads into the main hall and up the stairs to Dani’s bedroom. She takes a quick shower and changes into some of Dani’s dry clothes - a pair of high waisted denim pants and her pink striped t-shirt. Pink wasn’t exactly Jamie’s colour but her own fresh clothes were currently in a bag outside in her truck and there was no way she’d be going back out into the storm to get them. Plus, by wearing Dani’s clothes she was completely enveloped in her comforting scent and Jamie pulls the collar of the t-shirt up to her nose and inhales. The combination of the washing detergent and Dani herself was soothing. 

Jamie goes to the window and looks outside, but with rain coming down so heavily and the wind whirling past - she can barely make out the property two feet past the window. “Bloody hell,” she says, bowing her head. 

Jamie descends the main staircase and goes in search of Dani and everyone else. She finds them all by the fireplace in the sitting room and they turn and look at her as she walks in.

Dani narrows her eyes when she takes in the outfit Jamie has on.

“Hey you lot,” Jamie says. “Any tea left in that pot?”

Hannah smiles and nods and pours her a cup. Jamie accepts it graciously and takes a seat beside Dani on the couch. Dani immediately reaches out for her hand, craving the physical contact. No one else even bats an eye. 

Own and Hannah resume their conversation and Miles and Flora carry on with the pictures they're colouring. 

“Not that I don’t love what I’m seeing right now but why are you dressed in my clothes?” Dani whispers into Jamie’s ear.

Jamie sips her tea and shrugs. “Mine got wet.”

“Wait,” Dani says, glancing towards the window. “Were you out there when the storm rolled in? Jamie, that could have been dangerous.”

“It’s not as though I planned it, Poppins. I was just going about my business and the sky opened above me. Next thing I know it’s chucking it down and I’m in shambles, making a break for the door.” 

“I’m sorry,” Dani says, moving in a little closer to Jamie so their bodies are touching. 

“Not your fault Mother Nature decided to be a twat right when I was in the middle of working on something,” Jamie replies and drinks from her teacup again. “Rain is necessary for plants but not this much rain.”

Dani nods and leans back against the couch. She pulls her legs up and hugs her knees to her chest. “What part of the grounds were you working on today?” 

“Just uh...out past the statue garden, was trimming a few hedges back there.”

A lie. A big fat lie. 

Jamie didn’t like lying to Dani, especially since it may all be for nothing come morning when she was certain she’d find the new rose garden completely ruined. 

“You look good in pink,” Dani says, admiring Jamie's appearance again. “It brings out your eyes.”

Jamie smiles and sets her cup down on the coffee table. “Trust me, Poppins. Nobody can wear these clothes better than you can.”

Dani licks her lips and shakes her head, a lustful look now in her eyes. “I beg to differ,” she says quietly.

The storm carried on all throughout the evening and into the early morning. Jamie had a hard time falling asleep as the thunder continued to crash outside and instead found herself focusing on the inhale and exhale of the woman curled into her in the bed. After they had made their way up to the room for the night, Dani had slowly stripped Jamie of her clothes and pulled her into bed but was now fast asleep, completely at peace. When the sun rose in the morning, the rain had finally stopped but the sky was still grim and gloomy. 

Jamie kisses Dani on the top of the head and pulls herself from the bed, careful not to wake her. She redresses in Dani’s clothes and heads outside to her truck to retrieve the bag of her own but stops halfway to the vehicle deciding she needs to see the flowers.

To be fair, it’s not as bad as she expected but the sight still upsets her. Some of the flowers have been half uprooted and some are missing their buds entirely, and petals are scattered around the nearby grass. It wasn't entirely unsavable but it would set the project back a week or so as she only worked on it when she finished her other landscaping work on the property.

Jamie suddenly hears footsteps behind her in the grass and she turns around to find Dani watching her curiously. 

“The hedges by the statue garden, hmm?”

“You followed me,” Jamie says, a sly smile on her face.

Dani comes to stand beside her and looks at the flowers, or what’s left of them. 

“When did you plant all of this? Why did you plant all of this? Feels a bit out the way back here where no one can see it.” 

Jamie looks down and shuffles back and forth on her feet. “Been working on it for a coupla weeks now, was meant to be a surprise for you.”

Dani’s eyes snap up to Jamie and she softens. “Jamie. For me?”

“Nah, it’s ruined now. A pretty depressing sight to be honest.”

Jamie doesn’t look at Dani yet, still feeling a bit dejected. So much hard work, and for what? One storm rolls in and her surprise is quite literally ruined. 

“Hey,” Dani says, reaching for the other woman’s hands. “Jamie.”

“I wanted you to have a place you could come to on your own, a quiet spot with some pretty flowers. Somewhere peaceful, somewhere you could come up for air if ya needed to but the storm washed it away.”

Jamie looks back to Dani now and her heart melts. Dani is looking at her with such tenderness and when the blonde steps closer towards her, her breath catches a little in her throat. Dani’s hair was still wild from sleep and her smile was bright, beautiful. 

“You know, I feel peaceful every time I’m with you. When I need to come up for air, I look for you. When I want to relax, I find you. This was a beautiful gesture, and I’m so sorry the rain destroyed all of your hard work.”

Dani takes Jamie’s hand in hers and takes another step closer. She brings a hand up to her arm and strokes the skin reassuringly. 

“I could maybe...if you wanted...help you fix up the garden?” 

Jamie perks up at this. “You’d want to?”

“Of course,” Dani says. “We can do it together, it can be our garden. I don’t have much of a green thumb, but it could be nice to have a project with you.”

“I’d like that, Poppins. Our garden.”

~~~~~~~

The first time one of the children catches them, Jamie has Dani pressed up against the wall beside her bedroom window. She had snuck her upstairs for a moment alone before dinner and really only had an appetite for her. Dani laughs as Jamie kisses her neck and grips her waist. Dani lifts her leg and curls it around Jamie’s hip slightly and pushes her own hips forward as she slips her hands under the back of Jamie's shirt, lazily scraping her nails across the smooth, warm skin. Neither had realized that the bedroom door was left ajar until they hear a quiet voice. 

“Ms. Clayton?”

Jamie quickly pulls herself off of Dani and stands beside her. She fixes her shirt and Dani stands up straight beside her. 

Flora pushes the door open more and walks into the room. 

“Jamie?” Flora says sweetly. “What were you and Ms. Clayton doing?”

“Ah, hello Flora,” Jamie says, trying to keep a smirk off of her face. “Ms. Clayton had something stuck in her hair and I was helping her get it out.”

Flora looks between them and narrows her eyes. “What was stuck in her hair?”

“A bug,” Jamie replies quickly. 

“A bug? How dreadful. I hope you got it out. I wouldn’t want a bug in my hair.”

Just as quickly as she had appeared in the room, Flora turns and walks out, disappearing down the hallway. 

Dani starts to laugh and covers her face with her hands. “A bug in my hair?” 

Jamie shrugs. “Not like you had a better answer, Poppins. I panicked.” She looks at Dani again and then walks across the room and shuts the door. She locks it and turns around. “Now, where were we.”

The second time one of the children catches them, Dani is whispering sweet nothings into Jamie’s ear as she stands behind her in front of the sink doing the washing up after lunch one day. They had volunteered to do the job and like they often did despite their best efforts, they very quickly got distracted. Jamie’s hands slip off the wet dishes in the sink as Dani breathes against her neck and lets a hand dip inside past the front waistband of her jeans. As their relationship had grown, the blonde had become bolder with her public displays of affection and it always took Jamie by surprise. The respectable, soft American had a thirst for the brunette gardener that sometimes she simply could not deny. When you hadn’t been able to satisfy your yearning, desire, and attraction for women that had been waiting just below the surface for years, you're left with quite a lot of time to make up for, and Dani was certainly making the most of it. 

“Dani,” Jamie whispers. “We’re not exactly tucked away upstairs right now.”

“Everyone is outside, it’s okay,” Dani replies as she kisses her neck. 

Jamie quietly moans and lets her head fall back against the blonde's shoulder, exposing more of her neck. Just as Dani is about to let her hand wander down farther, they hear small footsteps and Dani quickly pulls away, leaving Jamie huffing at the loss of contact. Miles is standing by the fridge waiting for one of them to say something. 

“Miles, whatcha doing back inside, buddy?” Dani asks. She swallows and shoves her hands into her pockets. 

“I was thirsty. I was hoping I might get a glass of juice,” Miles replies. 

“Of course. I was just giving Jamie a hand with the washing up. It always goes faster when two people do it together.”

Dani gets a glass from the cupboard and gets the juice out of the fridge. She pours him some juice and hands him a glass. 

“Would you like me to help with the washing as well? I can help. Mrs. Grose says I’m quite good at it.”

Dani smiles at the young boy. “That’s okay, you can go back outside and play with your sister. Thank you though.”

Throughout the whole exchange, Jamie doesn’t turn around and keeps her eyes fixed on the sink, hands gripping the edge. Unbeknownst to Dani, she had grown quite worked up all thanks to the hot lips against her neck and the stroking of the hand at her waist. She was flushed and knew it would easily be noticeable had she turned around. 

Miles finishes his juice and goes back outside, leaving the two women alone again in the kitchen. Dani walks back to Jamie and hugs her from behind. “That was close,” she says with a laugh. 

“Mmhmm,” Jamie mumbles. 

“You okay?”

“Great. Brilliant.”

Dani lets her hand trail back to the waistline of Jamie’s pants and the brunette tenses against her. “Poppins,” she says. “We’re either going to need to abandon the washing all together so you to take me upstairs, or you can finish the washing up yourself and I’ll take myself.”

It doesn’t need much debate and Dani quickly drags Jamie away from the sink and they stumble their way up the servant's staircase laughing. 

The final time they get caught by the children, the time where everything finally makes sense, they’re asleep together on the couch in the sitting room after a long day of tending to the garden and running after energetic kids. Jamie is holding Dani and a blanket is draped over them. Jamie stirs and wakes up, smiling at the feeling of Dani sleeping against her. She strokes her hair and kisses the top of her head. It’s an intimate and comfortably domestic moment, the kind she was growing to really cherish. 

Suddenly Miles and Flora come bounding into the sitting room shouting at each other but they both stop in their tracks when they see Dani and Jamie together on the couch. The noise wakes Dani up and at first she glances up to Jamie then looks at Miles and Flora. 

“I’m sorry, Ms. Clayton. We didn’t mean to wake you,” Flora says. 

Dani sits up and reluctantly moves away from Jamie. She feels the loss of contact instantly and Jamie reaches for her hand under the blanket that has slipped off between them. 

“Miss Clayton,” Miles says, glancing between the women and narrowing his eyes. “Is Jamie your girlfriend?”

Jamie’s eyes widen and she looks at Dani, unsure of how to respond. It catches them totally off guard but Dani knows the children are intelligent and would have figured it out on their own eventually. It seemed as though they had already gotten quite close. 

“I saw Jamie kissing Ms. Clayton in her bedroom once,” Flora says, giggling. 

Dani opens her mouth to say something but stops herself. She looks to Jamie and smiles. 

“I saw you hugging in the kitchen,” Miles says. “My Mum and Dad used to hug like that and they were in love. Are you in love?”

Jamie grins at Dani and squeezes her hand under the blanket. They both turn their focus to the children. “Well,” Dani says, “to answer your question - yes. Jamie is my girlfriend.”

“I’ve been Ms. Clayton’s girlfriend for a while now,” Jamie adds. 

Flora smiles brightly and claps her hands. “Oh that’s wonderful,” she says. 

“It is?” Dani asks. 

“Oh, yes. I like both of you so much separately, but now you’re together and that’s even better.”

Miles nods happily in agreement and then as children often do, they quickly lose their interest in the subject of the relationship entirely and another idea pops into their heads. “Can we play hide and seek?” Miles asks.

Dani laughs. “Yes. You can play hide and seek.”

“Will you play with us,” Flora asks. “You and Jamie?”

“Course we will,” Jamie says. “Now you lot run and hide and Ms. Clayton and I will be along to find ya in a few minutes. Alright?”

Flora and Miles excitedly bound out of the room and stomp their way up the stairs to the second level of the manor. 

Alone in the room again, Dani and Jamie sit in silence for a moment. They’re stunned by the encounter that had just taken place and they simmer in that feeling for a while until the silence is broken by Dani laughing quietly to herself. 

“I guess we weren’t exactly discreet,” Dani says. 

“Poppins, you had your hand in my pants against the kitchen sink. No such thing as discreet.”

Dani swats Jamie’s arm. “Hey! We were both active participants in that, thank you very much.”

“So…” Jamie says. “I guess I can do this now and not care whose watchin’.”

Jamie grabs Dani’s arm and tugs her forward. She cups her face and kisses her deeply. They lose themselves in the kiss, tender lips against tender lips. 

“Ms. Clayton! Jamie! Come find us!”

The echoing voices force them to pull apart and they stay with their foreheads pressed together for a few more seconds before getting up off the couch. 

“Alright, you gremlins,” Jamie shouts. “Ready or not, here we come!”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snapshots of Dani and Jamie's blissfully happy life together in Bly if there were no ghosts or Lady in the Lake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy these new little moments and stories from their life in Bly! A reader with the username NatEarper said they’d like to read about Dani and Jamie discussing the first time they saw each other so I wrote my interpretation of how it could have gone. I hope I’ve done it justice! 
> 
> Please let me know what you’d like to see next in this series! Happy reading! x

Jamie was never one for photographs. She never had any from her childhood and didn’t much fancy them as an adult. They were just a reminder of tough times in her life, and while those tough times shaped her into who she is, she wasn’t keen on remembering them in that much vivid detail. Didn’t need a glance into her struggles to be framed on the wall. 

But all of that changed when she met Dani. She wanted to live so deeply inside every perfect and beautiful moment with Dani. She wanted memories, snapshots, to revel in each minute with her and to never forget. She wanted a million photos of Dani, a million perfect moments captured for all to see forever. So when Owen turned up to the manor with a camera hanging from his neck one day, Jamie offered to pay him a few quid for a new roll of film if she could borrow it for a day. She didn’t yet have one of her own but the second she saw the thing hanging off his frame, she wanted to use it. She didn’t know what exactly she’d take photos of, but she knew that Dani would exist somewhere within each frame and after a quick lesson from Owen on how to use it, she was off and running. 

She found Dani that morning sitting alone in the kitchen drinking a cup of coffee and soft light spilled in through the big windows above the sink and cast a glow on her that made her look ethereal. Dani didn’t hear Jamie approach which meant she could stand in the door frame, adjust her aperture and line up her shot. The click of the shutter and the advance of a new frame is what alerted Dani to Jamie’s presence and as she looked towards the door Jamie quickly tucked the camera behind her back.

“Did you just take a picture of me?” Dani asks, a little confused. 

Jamie shrugs. “Don’t know what you’re talkin’ about, Poppins,” she replies and smiles earnestly before taking a few steps backwards then disappearing down the hall. 

The second time Jamie finds Dani in the viewfinder of the camera is when she’s out by the lake with the children, giving them a science lesson about some of the plant and animal life that exists in and around the water. They’re all sitting on the grass by the shoreline and Dani is excitedly explaining something about frogs, her face expressive and hands animated as she speaks. Jamie didn’t go searching for her but had been on her way to the greenhouse with the camera and stumbled upon the scene. It makes her smile so she stops, brings the camera to her eyes and takes a picture. Dani was far too involved with her lesson to ever even realize she had been standing there watching from a distance. 

The third time Jamie finds Dani that day is when Dani is alone in her bedroom just after lunch, looking out the window and taking in the sunshine. She’s leaning against the window frame and smiling, lost in her thoughts. With the bedroom door wide open, Jamie is able to stand in the threshold, line up her shot and take the photo. This time, Dani is certain she hears the camera because she’s too quick to acknowledge Jamie before the brunette can stow it behind her back. 

“Well, well, well,” Dani says. “So someone did have a camera afterall.”

Jamie can’t deny it so she hands the camera strap over her shoulder and approaches Dani, coming to stand near her by the window. 

“Guilty,” she admits. 

“I didn’t take you to be a photographer,” Dani says. She instinctively reaches out for Jamie’s hands for some kind of contact and easily connects them. 

“Not my camera,” Jamie says.

Dani smirks and narrows her eyes. “But you’re going around taking sneaky photos of people with it.”

Jamie shakes her head. “Not people. Just you. Do you mind leaning back against the window frame again and looking at me?”

“No, no. I look terrible in pictures, Jamie. Please.”

“Firstly, that’s impossible. You look beautiful all the time. And secondly, these pictures are for me, so could you please lean back against the window frame and look at me?”

Dani sighs and shakes her head, resigning to do as she’s asked. She leans back against the window and looks at Jamie as she brings the camera to her eye and then takes a step to the left. 

“Stunning,” Jamie says. The compliment makes Dani smile so authentically just as Jamie presses the shutter button. “You sure you’re not a model, Ms. Clayton? Because you sure are pretty enough to be one.”

Dani covers her face with her hands to hide red cheeks. She should be used to Jamie’s compliments and words of endearment by now but they still fill her stomach with butterflies.

“Stop,” she mumbles into her hands. 

Jamie steps towards her and reaches up to pull her hands away. “Just one more, please.”

“No!”

“Poppins, just one more.”

Dani lets Jamie pull her hands away and she sheepishly smiles. 

“I don’t really know what I’m doing and I want at least one of these photos to turn out. Please? The way you look in this light right now is...brilliant. Just one more. I promise.”

Dani decides to give Jamie more than she asks for and instead of posing by the window, she walks over to the bed and sits down, stripping off her sweater as she does, leaving her with a bra clad chest and a bare stomach. 

“Dani...what…” 

“If these photos are just for you,” Dani says and bites her lip, “then you can have an extra special one. Just for you.”

Jamie’s eyes widen and she doesn’t know what to say. 

“Close the door,” Dani says. 

Owen lets Jamie hold on to the camera for the next few days and Jamie continues to take photos of Dani around the manor. She takes photos of her against the backdrop of the greenery inside the greenhouse, takes photos of her with the children in the classroom and she takes photos of her by the roses. The roll of film was essentially a love letter from Jamie to Dani, a representation of how beautiful she thinks she is, no matter what she’s doing. 

One day everyone is outside enjoying a beautiful summer afternoon and Jamie returns the camera to Owen, telling him that when he gets the film developed, she’ll give him the money for it. “It’s only fair,” she says. 

Jamie is standing with her arms around Dani’s waist as they watch the children try to fly a kite with the help of Hannah. As Owen is looking over the camera, she presses her lips to Dani’s shoulder and Dani smiles as she sinks back into her embrace. Their relationship was very much known to all those who inhabited the manor and it meant public displays of affection weren’t something they felt the need to shy away from anymore. They were proud to be together and Jamie was thrilled because it meant she could hold Dani that way whenever she so pleased. 

“Oh there’s still a frame left on this roll,” Owen says. “Can’t let that go to waste.” 

They don’t hear him though, as they’re lost in their own little world. Jamie presses her lips to the back of Dani’s neck then whispers something in her ear and it makes her laugh. A full bodied, head thrown back, joyful laugh. Owen doesn’t try to get their attention and instead simply lines up the camera and takes the picture, capturing the moment without their realizing and as he does, Jamie somehow instinctively holds Dani a bit tighter, pulls her a bit closer, and those oh so familiar butterflies return to both of their stomachs. 

A couple of weeks later, Owen strolls into the kitchen one morning before its time to prepare breakfast and finds Jamie making a pot of tea. 

“I have something for you,” he says, handing her an envelope full of her developed photos. “And I promise I didn’t look through them.”

“Already? Blimey, that was fast.”

Owen grins and nods. “Technology really has come a long way.”

He leaves her in the kitchen and she wipes her hands on a tea towel then pulls the photos from the envelope. As she flips through the photos, she’s surprised to find that almost all of them have turned out. She remembers each moment as she looks at them - the way she felt when she lined up the camera to capture Dani in her element, the way her golden hair seemed to shine in the sunlight through the kitchen window, and then of course the photos from the bedroom where Dani is...bearing herself in a way meant for Jamie and Jamie alone. She blushes slightly as she remembers the events that followed her taking those photos and hopes Owen meant what he said when he mentioned that he hadn’t looked through the images. She gets to the last photo and her breath catches in her throat. It wasn’t one she took, but she studies it and realizes that she can’t remember a time in her life when she looked happier than in the photo. The image brings back the warmth of Dani against her, it brings back the way her laughter seemed to float through the air like the kite in the wind, how the smell of her skin made Jamie feel so at peace in her soul. _God, she is so beautiful_ , Jamie thinks. _How did I ever so lucky, how is it possible to be this happy?_

She holds the photo to her chest - to her heart. An idea comes to mind and that afternoon she disappears into town and when night rolls around, she waits for Dani in her bedroom after dinner. When the au pair walks in, she finds Jamie sitting on the edge of the bed eagerly. 

“Got something for you,” Jamie says. 

“And what might that be?” Dani asks as she sits down beside Jamie. 

Jamie purses her lips and hands Dani a photo album. Dani runs her fingers over it then flips it open and starts to look through the photos. 

“I can’t believe you took all of these. This is a lot of...me. But I look different than I remember looking in photos.”

“You look happy.”

“I look like me. Or...the me I always wanted to be? If that even makes sense.”

Jamie puts her hand on Dani’s thigh and strokes her hand across the denim clad skin. “You look fulfilled, peaceful.”

Dani nods and presses her fingertips to the photo of her with Miles and Flora by the lake then flips to the next photo and smirks. “Ah, I forgot about these ones.”

“I didn’t,” Jamie says, smirking. 

“Mmm, I bet you didn’t. I’m a bit jealous that I don’t have any photos of you like this.”

Jamie reaches beside her on the bed and picks up a framed photo - the photo of the two of them outside with Jamie’s arms around Dani. “You have this though,” she says and sets it in Dani’s lap. 

Dani looks down at the frame and lets out a long deep breath. “Oh, Jamie.”

“Thought it was worth framing.”

“I love it.”

“Yeah?” 

“Absolutely,” Dani replies. She turns to Jamie and cups her cheek. She leans in and kisses her softly, then pulls back slightly to look into shining blue eyes. “I hope we have more moments like this.”

Jamie smiles. She’s so hopeful. “We will. Using Owen’s camera actually made me want one of my own, not too pricey for a used one it turns out. Figured I could maybe learn a thing or two about really taking photos. Nice to have another hobby and all that.”

“I’m proud of you,” Dani says. 

It’s a simple statement. A statement that might not have had much weight to it if she had heard it any other tims in her life because if she were being honest, she didn’t believe that anyone had ever been proud of her, no one but herself. To hear the person that means more to her than anyone ever has say the words with such conviction makes Jamie feel like she can take on the world and the thing she’s learned, the thing she knows so deeply in her heart now, is that with Dani by her side? Well, with Dani by her side she can achieve anything.

~~~~~~~

For some odd reason, everything that week had gone wrong. The children were unhappy and unwilling to follow along to her schoolwork, Owen and Hannah had gotten into some kind of lovers quarrel and meals were eaten in complete silence, her favourite sweater got a hole in it and Jamie had been so busy with her landscaping work that they hadn’t been able to spend more than five uninterrupted minutes with each other before some important task pulled her away. 

When Dani convinced Jamie to go into Bly on Friday night based on the fact that she desperately needed - no, deserved - a night to unwind from the disaster that unfolded over the days prior, Jamie had protested at first. Jamie had debated with her about the benefits of staying at the manor for the night and being by themselves over going to Bly and being surrounded by people in a loud and smoke filled pub. But, Dani’s argument fared better and so that’s how they ended up in the corner booth in the back with an open tab and a table covered in empty pint glasses. 

“Am I that hard to listen to?” Dani asks as she sips on her fourth beer. “Is my voice annoying? Because Miles and Flora would not focus this week. Maybe it’s my voice. It’s my voice, isn’t it?”

Jamie tries not to smile at a pouting Dani, whose words are coming out slower and without their regular articulation thanks to the alcohol. “Poppins, I love the sound of your voice.”

“You have to, you’re my girlfriend.”

The official title is still fresh and sends warmth throughout Jamie’s body. She knows how lucky she is, knows that every time they stroll into the pub there are always two or three sets of eyes tracking Dani. She’s a beautiful woman and Jamie certainly wasn’t the only one to notice, but she was Dani’s girlfriend. No one else. _Jamie was Dani’s girlfriend_. It was a title she wore with pride. “I am your girlfriend, but you’re also a bloody damn good teacher and it’s not your fault that they didn’t want to pay attention this week. They’re kids, it happens. I know you’re doubting yourself, Dani. Don’t. You’re great and they love you.”

“You know my purple sweater? The really soft one?”

It’s such a quick subject change but Jamie’s mind floods with thoughts of a time when she very slowly pulled that sweater up over Dani’s head, letting it drop to the floor before her hands wandered the pale expanse of skin that had been waiting underneath it. “Yea, I know the one,” she manages to say. 

Dani props her head on her elbow and frowns. “It got caught on something today and I ripped a hole in it.”

Jamie could physically feel Dani’s pout and she knew she was having a rough go of it but it was near impossible to ignore how adorable she looked, all loose and honest because of the alcohol. Her cheeks had turned a rosy hue and she let’s out a very long, overly dramatic sigh. 

“I’m sorry, Poppins. We can try to find some yarn that matches and patch the hole up. Make it good as new,” Jamie says. 

“You promise?” Dani asks. She takes another sip of beer and sets an empty glass back down on the table. 

Jamie nods and smiles. “I promise.”

After a few more drinks, Jamie decides it's time to drag a very _non-sober_ Dani up the stairs to her apartment and despite the struggles that come with assisting someone who isn’t in much of a position to help themselves, they make it up the stairs without issue. After managing to get the blonde into the apartment, Jamie sets her down on the bed and goes about pulling off all of her clothes so she can be more comfortable as she sleeps. 

“Jaaaamie,” Dani mumbles as she reaches up to Jamie, who is trying to pull a green sweater over her frame. “You’re so pretty. Do you know that? So, so, pretty.”

“Shhh, Poppins,” Jamie says, trying not to grin. 

“How is such a pretty girl is taking off my clothes?” 

“I missssed you this week.” Dani is silent for a minute before she reaches up to Jamie again. “Do you want to have sex with me?”

If Jamie had just taken a sip of something, she would have sent it spilling from her mouth across her bedspread. It was a bold question and had Dani been more alert, less...drunk, Jamie might consider it. But Dani was in no position to do anything but sleep.

“I like when we do that,” Dani adds. “You’re so good at it. When you do that one thing with your tongue...” Dani’s voice trails off as she gets lost in thought. 

Jamie does her very best to hold in a laugh and just nods as she moves down Dani’s body and pulls off her shoes. 

“Another night, Poppins.” 

”Mmm. Okay. Sex on another night,” she says 

Dani nods very eagerly and grins. She closes eyes and the emotions from the week and the alcohol start to weight heavy on her.

When Dani is finally out of all of her clothes and wearing a worn t-shirt that Jamie had almost had to force over her head, Dani is ready for bed and Jamie retrieves a glass of water and some aspirin and sets it down on the bedside table nearest to her. Jamie changes out of her own clothes and into pyjamas then settles down into the bed beside Dani who is already completely passed out. She strokes her cheek and kissed her forehead then slips in behind her and drapes an arm over her waist. It doesn’t take long for Jamie to fall asleep and when she wakes in the morning, it’s to the sound of Dani groaning beside her. They naturally separated in the night and now Dani is lying on her back looking up at the ceilings and rubbing her temples. 

“Ughhhhh,” Dani says. “Who let me drink that much last night?”

Jamie rolls over in the bed and looks at Dani as she drapes an arm over her eyes. 

“You let yourself drink that much. Said you deserved it, said you had earned it,” Jamie says. She closes her eyes again and settles back against her pillow. 

Dani flips over onto her stomach. “Why didn’t you try to stop me?” She groans into the pillow and Jamie laughs a little bit.

“I did. You weren’t having it. Tried to fight me on it, actually. Finally had to drag you away and get you up here into bed. Was quite the scene.”

“Oh god,” Dani says. “I’m so sorry and now my head is pounding and I totally deserve to feel like this.”

“Bedside table.”

Dani lifts her head and looks at the table. She spots the water and medicine waiting for her and she smiles despite the pain she’s feeling. Suddenly that smile is gone again and she is up out of the bed and rushing towards the washroom. 

“Had a feelin’ that was coming,” Jamie says to herself. She sits up in the bed and stretches her arms up above her head then gets up and follows Dani into the washroom. Luckily, they don’t spend much time there and a half hour later they’re back in Jamie’s bed cuddling as Jamie runs her hand up and down Dani’s arm slowly and soothingly. 

“I’m sorry I drank so much last night. I’m sure that I ruined the evening,” Dani says.

“S’alright. Tough week, Poppins. It’s hard to unwind from that,” Jamie says. “Decided I’d let ya have that one, since you did seem to really need it.”

”You didn’t _actually_ have to drag me out of the pub...did you?”

Jamie thinks about her answer for a moment, knowing the truth wasn’t what Dani needed to hear. “Nah, you just stumbled on your way out is all.”

“Can we lay here for a little while longer?” Dani asks.

Jamie smiles and pulls her closer. “Yeah, I reckon we can do that. We’ve got all day and theres nowhere else I’d rather be anyway.”

~~~~~~~

It’s a funny thing, when you notice someone from across a room and for some strange reason, you feel in your bones that your life is about to change. Maybe in a big way, maybe in a small way, but it will change. You know that person is meant to exist within your world somehow, you are meant to know them. It’s hard to explain unless you’ve experienced it yourself, but there is such a significance in that moment and even the best writers and poets in the world could only ever theorize about what it means, how it feels, what it looks like. Jamie lived it. Jamie knew what it was like to be struck by lightning and by the grace of God, live to tell the tale. 

It happened on a day like any other really, not too cold, the sun was shining, a comfortable breeze in the air. She had been out doing some work just outside the greenhouse when she saw the new au pair make her way across the property towards the manor with Flora leading the way. It was her smile that caught Jamie’s eyes first, even from a distance she noticed how it didn’t quite reach her eyes but she was trying her hardest to make it seem like it did. Her voice seemed to carry across the open outdoor space and settle itself into Jamie’s mind immediately. The gentle american accent, the way her words spilled from her lips - thickly laced with kindness for the people she had just met and excitement for the new adventure she was embarking on. 

There was a flash of light and then she was gone, or at least that’s what it felt like. Just as quickly as she had appeared in Jamie’s field of vision, Dani was pulled out of sight and into the manor. It would be another day before Jamie saw her again. But the new blonde au pair didn’t leave her thoughts. Never before had such a brief and distant encounter with someone taken up so much space in Jamie’s mind. She couldn’t quite put her finger on why that was, but as she carried on with her tasks for the rest of that first day - she couldn’t shake the sight of the blonde woman who would so soon become such an integral part of her life. 

Sure, Jamie seemed tough and rough around the edges, her northern accent thick and rugged as she spoke, but Jamie was a complete and utter sucker when it came to a pretty girl and Dani was perhaps the prettiest that she had ever seen. When lunch time the next day rolled around, Jamie was feeling slightly embarrassed by just how much she had thought of Dani and without even intending to, she quickly made the impulsive choice to play coy as she slipped into the kitchen. One quick glance in the direction of the au pair and a brief locking of eyes sent sparks through Jamie’s body and she quickly found herself needing to focus on anything and everything else or she could very easily lose herself in the woman she had never even met before. 

So, she didn’t say a word to her, didn’t strike up a conversation or welcome her to Bly. She simply took her seat at the table and acted as if all was well and fine and normal, knowing that if she took the time to hold out her hand, took the time to really admire Dani’s face, she’d truly be a goner. If only she had known that Dani felt all of those same feelings when she had walked into the room. If only. 

Dani had never known what she felt when Jamie had so casually strolled into the kitchen that day, barely looking in her direction. Sure, she had known attraction to women. It’s how she had grown to be confident in her sexuality, that much she couldn’t deny. The jolt of electricity that seemed to corse through her body when her eyes fell on Jamie was different, stronger than anything she had experienced. It was instantaneous and somehow Dani knew it would not be the last time she would feel that way. She couldn’t quite put her finger on why or how she knew that, but she just felt in her gut - in her soul - that she would. There was something about the strange gardener, something that called to Dani. A natural and undeniable pull. It was like when Jamie walked into the room, some of Dani’s shadows seemed to fade away. The air felt lighter. It was as if Jamie carried with her a calm reserved for Dani, and Dani alone.

How could she feel all of that with just one look? Was it the confidence she seemed to have? Her toned and strong arms? Her wild hair? All of that was incredibly attractive, yes. But it was the gardeners eyes that Dani found herself thinking about for much of that day. She could disappear so completely into those blue eyes and got the sense that if some day she somehow got the chance to, it would truly be a gift. She got the sense that it had been quite some time since the woman had let anyone close enough to do that...but maybe, Dani might be an exception?

All of this comes to the surface one night as Jamie and Dani lay in bed together. It’s late and everyone else has long since gone to bed. They had stumbled upstairs and into bed after one too many glasses of wine shared with Owen and Hannah after dinner and now rest, curled into one another with their clothing scattered across the bedroom floor. It wasn’t unusual for them to get lost in their mutual desire as soon as the bedroom door was closed and that’s exactly what they had done. 

“Do you ever think about how we never actually met?” Dani asks as she traces patterns lazily across Jamie’s bare stomach with her index finger. It’s a question that comes out of nowhere. “I’ve been thinking about that lately.”

“Ah, that’s right. I suppose we just never needed a proper introduction,” Jamie says. 

“I felt like I already knew you,” Dani says. “I really did. It was the strangest thing. I remember so vividly when you walked into the room for lunch that day, I couldn’t take my eyes off of you. I think Miles and Flora thought I was crazy, but I figure they think we had run into each other outside or something maybe.”

“The feeling was very much mutual, Poppins,” Jamie replies. “But I had actually seen you already.”

Dani sits up when she hears this. “You did? When?”

Jamie bites her lip and nods. “The day you showed up on the property.”

“But I don’t remember seeing you...” Dani says, confused. 

“That’s ‘cause ya didn’t.” Dani narrows her eyes and Jamie continues. “I heard you all walking across the grass towards the house while I was out by the greenhouse doing some work and then I saw you. Even from all those metres away, there was something about you that just stuck with me. Couldn’t stop thinking’ about ya for two days straight if I’m bein’ honest.” 

“ _Wow_ ,” Dani says. She settles back down against Jamie and smiles. “You know, I would have been way too nervous to talk to you if I had met you alone outside of the kitchen that day. You made me feel so many things so quickly and I would have had no idea what to do with those feelings. Sometimes I still don’t...”

Jamie reaches up and brushes some hair behind Dani’s ear and presses a chaste kiss to her lips.

“Well I wasn’t sure what to make of you at first, Poppins,” she says when she pulls back. “You were this warm and bright...strange new person who just walked into my world that I felt so drawn to. I didn’t understand you, wasn’t sure if what I was feeling was just in my head or if I did really catch you on more than one occasion looking my way without thinking I knew. Guess we know now that it wasn’t all in my head.”

They both laugh and Dani slips down father into the bed and nestled her head in crook of Jamie’s neck. She brushes her nose against the warm skin. It’s a simple gesture, a sweet one. Something so very domestic.

It’s quiet for a moment. A peaceful quiet. The kind of quiet that exists between two people who don’t feel the need to fill every second with words, the kind that exists when two people are so content and at peace together that silence is so incredibly easy. 

But Dani breaks the silence. “Do you believe in fate?” she asks. 

“Never really thought about it to be fair,” Jamie replies. 

“What else could it be but fate? How did two people fit so perfectly together before they ever even spoke?”

Jamie ducks her head down and presses her lips to Dani’s bare shoulder. “It’s pure goddamned luck, Poppins. And yeah, maybe the universe in all its wild glory had something to do with it and all I can really do is thank it.”

“I can’t imagine my life without you in it now. There’s all of the time before you...without you...and everything that came afterwards and the after is just so much better.”

“All I know, Poppins…” Jamie says, repositioning herself so she’s leaning on her elbow and looking down slightly at Dani. She thinks about her words carefully, wanting to bare her soul and her heart in the most open way she has in a very, very long time but feeling somewhat cautious about the honesty of it all. “All I know is that you’re the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning and the last thing I think about when I close my eyes at night, and it has been that way since I first laid eyes on you across the grass the day you showed up in Bly.”

Dani is at a loss for words and all she can do is gaze up adoringly at Jamie who is looking at her hung like she hung the moon. Jamie doesn’t need her to speak to know what she’s feeling and instead she dips her head down and presses her lips to Dani’s. A kiss can say so much and this kiss says you are my home, you are my heart, you are the air in my lungs. 

Yes, what a funny thing it truly is to meet someone and somehow fall so deeply into them before ever really knowing a thing about who they are. But what a beautiful thing. What an extraordinary thing. Beautiful and extraordinary. Two words that perfectly encapsulate what it the two women shared. What they shared is once in a lifetime and even though they would never completely understand why or how, they had both felt it from the second they laid eyes on each other. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snapshots of Dani and Jamie's blissfully happy life together in Bly if there were no ghosts or Lady in the Lake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These were some of my favourite snapshots to write and I really do want you all to enjoy reading them as much I truly enjoyed writing them! Two of these were suggested to me by people who left some lovely comments on the last chapter and I'm hoping I've done their ideas justice as these were just my interpretations of how it could have gone!
> 
> Thank you all for reading, it always makes me so excited to write more!

It’s a rainy Sunday in Bly and there’s not a whole lot to do around the manor. The whole place is quiet, calm, and a bit gloomy. It has, much to the annoyance of the children...and to Jamie, rained for nearly an entire week. A little rain wouldn’t hurt anyone and they would all still find themselves enjoying the fresh air and all that the grounds had to offer but this hadn’t been just a little rain. This felt like an entire season’s worth of rain within a few days. The poor weather and the dark days had left everyone without the brightest of spirits, Dani included. She had been stuck in a bit of a slump and because of all the rain and the fact that she was unable to accomplish much of her work at the manor, Jamie had made the choice to spend a bit more time in her own flat while the weather was bad, needing to take care of her own house plants and wash her clothes. She had been spending less and less time at her own place but it had been too long since she had an extended stay and after all, she was paying for it every month even if she didn’t often find herself there when night fell. 

To put it simply, Dani was lonely. Miles and Flora had each other's company, Owen and Hannah’s relationship was blossoming, and while Dani loved spending time with all of them, she felt like an outsider sometimes when Jamie wasn’t around. Bly Manor had become her home but every so often, and it was rare, she would feel like maybe she didn’t belong. It was just insecurity creeping in and she knew that. She’d never voice these feelings out loud because everyone would tell her the opposite but it was hard to fight your own feelings sometimes. Impossible almost. 

Hannah had noticed the change in Dani’s demeanor, noticed her quiet temperament. Dani was typically the type of person who wore a wide smile and someone who wanted to be part of the conversation, part of the fun, but right now she just didn’t seem like herself. She had been spending her time in her bedroom, browsing the bookshelves in the study and rummaging through dusty boxes of things in the attic. It was mostly a mindless way to kill time. Dani didn’t want to be a burden on anyone, especially Jamie. She didn’t want anyone to feel like they had to spend time with her and she didn’t want to come across as needy or dependent. 

When it came to Jamie, she wanted her to have her space, her time alone, but Dani missed her and the bed felt too big now when Jamie wasn’t in it beside her. Her little life felt a bit too quiet without Jamie in it. She knew that alone meant much more than she was quite ready to admit but it’s what she felt and Hannah had picked up on it. So, she called Jamie. Jamie was, of course, willing to drop anything she was doing if Dani needed her and when Hannah described how Dani had been over the previous few days, Jamie was in her truck and on her way to the manor just minutes after the phone call ended. 

Her windshield wiper blades worked furiously to clear the rain from her window as she drove through the storm and when she pulled up in front of the manor, the rain was falling so heavily she almost couldn’t see the front door before her when she hopped out of the vehicle and bounded inside the house. Hannah was working on getting a fire going in the sitting room with Owen when Jamie walked inside and hung up her coat. She heard the door and left Owen with the logs and went to meet Jamie in the main hall. 

“Christ, it really and truly is chucking it down right now,” Jamie says, trying to shake off a slight chill from the rain. 

“And the forecast says it’s not going to stop anytime soon,” Hannah replies. “Glad you were able to make it here safely. I assume you’re staying the night?”

“No way I’m heading back out in that. If it keeps raining as hard as it is now we’ll all get washed away.”

“Good. Better to stay here. Safer. She’s upstairs in her room I believe. I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to see you.”

“Thanks,” Jamie says. She squeezes Hannah’s arm and makes her way up the stairs. She can hear slow classical music playing softly inside Dani’s bedroom and lightly raps her knuckles against the door. 

“Come in,” Dani quietly calls out. 

Jamie turns the door handle and opens the door. Dani is sitting on the bed with her back against the headboard, blanket across her lap and a book in her hands. Her face lights up when Jamie steps into the room. 

“Hey you,” Jamie says. 

“Jamie? What are you doing here?” Dani asks, totally surprised and delighted to see Jamie standing before her. 

“Little birdie told me you might want some company,” Jamie replies. She closes and locks the door then makes her away across the room and sits on the edge of the bed. 

“Hannah,” Dani says. Jamie smiles and nods. 

“Should’ve called me, Poppins. I would have come back sooner if I knew you were having a rough go of things.”

Dani drops her gaze and shakes her head slightly. “You had things to do. Your own things. I didn’t want to be a bother.”

“Oh, Dani. You’re never a bother.” Jamie brings a finger up to Dani’s chin and lifts her head so their eyes meet. “Being with you is my favourite thing. You think I’d rather be alone in my flat doing my washing?” She furrows her brow and dramatically shakes her head. “Not a chance.”

“No...but it’s something you need to do, it’s your home. I don’t want you to feel like you always have to be here with me.”

Jamie scoots in closer to Dani and cups her face with her hands. “I don’t have to be here with you but I choose to be here with you because that’s where I want to be.”

“Yeah?” Dani asks, looking unsure and doubtful. 

“Yes,” Jamie replies and closes the distance between them, pressing her lips to Dani’s. Dani’s eyes flutter closed and she melts into the tender kiss and she melts into Jamie. Just like that, she feels better. She feels less alone. She feels like she belongs because, with Jamie, everything feels like it’s supposed to. 

When Jamie pulls back, she runs a thumb across Dani’s cheek and leans her forehead against hers then reaches for Dani’s hand and slips their fingers together. 

“So, what did I interrupt when I showed up unannounced today?” she asks. 

“Nothing, really. I found this book in the study and some records in the attic so I’ve just been reading and listening to some music. It’s all just been...very quiet over the past few days.”

Jamie picks up the book and tosses it to the other side of the bed then stands and walks to a record player in the corner of the room. “I have a better way to spend some time,” she says and turns the volume up. 

“What’s that?” Dani asks with a wide smile on her face. 

“Dance with me.”

“Jamie...I’m not…”

Jamie puts her hands on her hips and shrugs. “A dancer? Blimey, Poppins. Neither am I.”

“What if we just - “ Dani tries to barter but Jamie is having none of it and she swiftly moves back towards the bed and takes Dani’s hands in hers and pulls her up. 

“Dance with me. Please?”

Dani rolls her eyes and allows Jamie to lead her towards the record player. She slides an arm around her waist and pulls her close, letting her hand settle on the small of Dani’s back. They start to move and Dani feels a little awkward at first until Jamie kisses her temple and she settles into the soft movement as they sway back and forth. It’s comforting, being so close to Jamie and moving to the music. 

“You’re so beautiful,” Jamie whispers in her ear and the feeling of warm breath and the conviction behind the words is almost overwhelming. Dani rests her head on Jamie’s shoulder and hides a shy smile. 

“I’ve never done this before,” she says, her voice timid. 

“You’ve never danced?” Jamie asks with a laugh and slips her hand up under the hem of Dani’s shirt so it's pressed against her skin. 

Dani shakes her head and takes a deep breath, letting the scent and comfort of Jamie wash over her completely. 

“Fallen for someone this way.”

For a moment, the only sound that fills the room is the music, though Dani is sure that her heart is beating loudly enough in her chest for Jamie to hear. 

Jamie can’t just hear Dani’s heartbeat but she can feel it. She can feel it beating as if it were her own and in a way, it had become her own. Dani had become her heart. She takes a shaky breath and hugs Dani closer to her body as they seem to float along with the gentle piano notes that pour out of the record player. 

“I’ve never fallen for someone this way either,” she replies.

Dani leans back slightly and looks into Jamie’s eyes. She’s surprised to find them glossy but she knew hers were too. “I feel like the luckiest girl in the world,” Dani says and Jamie grins. She nuzzles her nose against Dani’s then kisses her sweetly and they lose themselves in their slow gentle swaying to the music and in each other. 

The world outside the manor might be dark and grey, cold and harsh, but in Dani’s bedroom on the second floor of Bly Manor, the two women feel nothing but warmth, happiness, and _love_. Even though neither of them had said the word out loud yet - it’s there. It’s there, it’s undeniable, and it’s extraordinary.

~~~~~~~

“How about this one?” Miles asks as he stops in front of a very average looking pine tree. 

Jamie walks up behind him and puts her hands on his shoulders. She shakes her head in disapproval. “If we’re cuttin’ down a tree, it needs to be worthy of being cut,” she says. “It needs to be grand.”

“Jamie,” Dani calls out. Jamie turns her head to see Dani standing beside a much larger tree a few feet away. She’d admit, it was a good one. Good, but still not right. 

“Look at the lower branches, not grown out enough,” Jamie replies then reaches down for Miles’s hand and drags him away to look at more trees. He glances back over his shoulder in Dani’s direction and mouths the words ‘help me’.

Flora is standing beside Dani and she looks up at her and tilts her head. “Is any tree going to be right, Miss Clayton?”

“I wish I knew, Flora. I wish I knew,” Dani replies, glancing at the tree beside her. “I really thought this one could have been it.”

The four of them have been at the Christmas tree farm for over 45 minutes and for each tree they suggested, Jamie refused. They were either too small, too lopsided, had uneven branches, or weren’t green enough. That’s the one reason that Dani didn’t quite understand. They all looked very, very green to her. 

“I’ll know it when I see it,” Jamie had said and it was proving to be true. 

It was Dani’s first Christmas in Bly and everyone wanted it to be special - especially Jamie. A special Christmas needed a very special tree and so far none of the tree’s they’d seen had been **the** tree. 

“Can we get hot chocolate?” Flora asks Dani when they walk past a man selling it from a cart near the entrance of the farm. The whole place had been decked out to look like a festive winter wonderland, with strings of lights hung above them from wooden posts to a handful of the trees already decorated and ready for the holiday. 

“I think that is an excellent idea,” Dani replies.

“No, no, all wrong,” Jamie says from beyond one of the rows of trees. 

“But I like this one,” Miles replies.

“See that section? Broken branches in the middle. Dodgy one, this tree. Integrity is compromised.”

“What does integrity mean?”

Dani and Flora can’t see them but they can hear them and they both look at each other and roll their eyes then approach the man at the cart and order four cups of hot chocolate. When they find Jamie and Miles, Jamie is kneeling and looking up at one of the trees from low to the ground.

“You’re really taking this seriously aren’t you?” Dani asks and drinks from her cup. 

Jamie stands from her kneeling position and dutifully nods. “Someone has to,” she says. Dani hands her one of the cups of hot chocolate and Flora hands one to Miles and together they begin to wander through the rows of trees again. They make jokes and point out trees and let the sweetness of their drinks settle in their stomachs. Dani sways into Jamie as they walk and she’s glad there’s no one else around because when Miles and Flora run up ahead to climb upon some hay bales, she pulls Jamie out of sight behind one of the nearby trees and kisses her deeply. 

“Mmm, you taste good,” Dani says, tasting the chocolate and licking her lips when she pulls back. 

Jamie’s cheeks are slightly flushed from the surprising boldness of the kiss and she smirks then brings her mouth to Dani’s ear. “You said the same thing the other night, Poppins,” she whispers. 

Dani’s jaw drops and she smacks Jamie on the arm. “Jamie!”

They both laugh and make their way back around the tree and finish their hot chocolate while Miles and Flora chase each other around a few of the trees, already feeling the effects of the sugar. 

“This is nice,” Dani says, bumping her shoulder against Jamie’s. 

“It really is,” Jamie replies. “But those two are going to crash hard tonight.”

Dani grins. “So hard.”

They continue to browse around the farm for another fifteen minutes and Dani starts to wonder if their search for the elusive perfect tree will end in disappointment. 

“We must have seen every single Christmas tree that has ever existed,” Flora complains.

“That’s not even possible, Flora,” Miles retorts. 

Jamie suddenly stops in her tracks and Dani looks around, confused by her abruptness. 

“There,” Jamie says. “Right there.” She points towards a tree at the end of the row they’re walking down and Flora and Miles run over to it. Jamie and Dani follow them and stop in front of the tree. 

It’s not the biggest tree they’ve come across on the Christmas tree farm but everything about it checks all of Jamie’s boxes. The branches are even and full, their colour a deep wintergreen. The top of the tree points straight up and the trunk is wide and round. It’s the type of tree you see in films and storybooks. 

“It’s perfect,” Jamie says. “Bloody perfect.”

An hour later, Jamie’s truck rumbles up the drive towards Bly Manor with the perfect tree wrapped up safely hanging out the back. Hannah and Owen come out of the house to meet them and when the truck rolls to a stop, the kids hop out first and run inside then Jamie and Dani step out and walk to the back of the truck and open the bed. 

“Wow,” Owen says as he and Hannah walk towards them, getting their first look at the tree in the back of the truck. “That sure is tree-mendous.”

All three women look at him, collectively sigh, and roll their eyes. 

“Any bigger and you wouldn’t have been able to get this home,” Hannah jokes. 

“Oh, she would have found a way,” Dani says. “Trust me.”

It takes all four of them to drag the tree inside and they set it up in the centre of the main hall between the two staircases. Dani and Jamie head up to the attic to retrieve all of the Christmas decorations and as they’re digging around in the boxes, Jamie finds some fake mistletoe and dangles it above Dani’s head while she’s kneeling and rummaging through a box. 

“Poppins,” she says and Dani looks up. She smiles and stands then slips her hands around Jamie’s waist.

Jamie lets go of the mistletoe and it drops to the floor then pulls Dani flush against her body and kisses her. It’s very innocent at first. A few casual pecks. Then...it’s not so innocent. In an instant, it’s deep and lustful, all tongue and shuddered breaths. When they finally pull apart both of them are panting, lips red and slightly swollen. 

“Wow,” Dani says as she lets out a deep breath. “That sure is a tradition I can get behind.”

Jamie laughs and they gather up everything they need and carry it downstairs. Flora and Miles have reappeared and they help Hannah untangle some strings of lights while Owen finds two step ladders so they can reach higher branches. Once the tree is lit, they all begin to cover it with ornaments and tinsel. 

Dani gathers a string of garland and wraps it around Jamie’s shoulders, pulling her into her body. She hugs her tightly and Jamie laughs then presses sweet kisses all across her cheeks. It’s all so very domestic and Dani loves every single moment of it. At some point, someone turns on the radio and everyone begins to hum along to classic Christmas tunes as the tree starts to fill with brightly coloured and sparkling decorations.

When they finally deem the tree to be officially finished, all of them stand by the front door of the manor and look at it. There isn’t an inch of it that isn’t covered by something and it shimmers and shines and suddenly makes the entire manor feel festive. Jamie slips her hand into Dani’s and leans into her. One thing they had learned very quickly in their relationship was how they were both always hungry for the other’s touch in some way. A hand on a lower back, on a thigh, gripping a waist. Contact, always. 

“Now that is a damn fine tree,” Jamie says with a proud smile on her face. 

“It’s beautiful,” Dani replies but she’s not looking at the tree, her eyes are fixed on Jamie instead. Jamie can feel Dani looking at her she turns to meet her gaze. 

“Quite right,” Flora says. “Quite right.”

~~~~~~~

The pub in Bly is filled with people. Packed, really. More people than usual for a typical Saturday night but Dani and Jamie are tucked away in their regular booth, laughing and talking over the events of the day. 

“It was poison ivy,” Jamie says. 

“No, it wasn’t. I know what poison ivy looks like,” Dani replies. 

“Poppins, trust me. It was poison ivy. I know my plants and I **know** that it was poison ivy.”

Dani huffs and takes a sip of her drink - usually a pint glass filled to the rim with beer, but tonight she’s gone with something a little stronger because her plan is to drag Jamie into bed right upstairs when the night ends and it’s okay if she’s a bit drunk when it happens. 

“It’s a good thing I avoided it then.”

Jamie laughs and sips from her own glass. “Narrowly. You narrowly avoided it.”

A loud cheer erupts from over by the bar when two men watching a tv screen jump up and hug each other as their football team scores an overtime winning goal. Something like that usually happened when they were at the pub and Jamie and Dani look in their direction but as Dani observes the scene, she notices a brunette seductively staring at Jamie.

“Do you know her?” Dani asks.

Confused, Jamie scans the pub and then looks back at Dani. “Know who?”

“The woman sitting on the barstool looking at you.”

Jamie looks back at the bar and the woman looks the other way right as she does. 

“Doesn’t look familiar to me,” she says and dismisses the topic of conversation completely. She picks up her glass and drinks more of her beer then rubs her hand on her stomach. “Do you want some chips? I’m fucking starving.”

Dani shakes her head and out of the corner of her eye she can see the brunette at the bar look back towards them. 

“Jamie, she’s looking this way again.”

The statement goes unheard as Jamie picks up one of the little menu cards on their table and browses through her meal options as though she had never eaten in the pub before when the reality was she could probably recite the menu word for word. 

“Chips with vinegar sounds good but so does shepherd’s pie,” she says to herself. “Don’t think I’ve had a bite to eat since lunch.”

“Jamie.”

“Hmm?” Jamie looks back at Dani now. “Change your mind?”

“No,” Dani replies. “Look at the bar.”

Jamie sighs and looks towards the bar again and this time when she does, she finds the brunette sitting on the barstool looking over at their booth. She narrows her eyes and shrugs. “I really don’t know who she is, Dani. Don’t really have many mates in Bly.”

Dani scoffs and sits up straighter in her seat. “Have you seen yourself? I don’t think she just wants to be your friend.”

“Poppins, don’t be daft.”

“Jamie...come on. You’re very attractive and I’m sure people here notice all the time.”

A slight blush appears on Jamie’s face but she shakes it off and drinks more of her beer. “Doubt that,” she says then shoots Dani her very best smile. “Besides, the only person here tonight that matters is sitting across from me right now and she’s beautiful.”

The compliment makes Dani feel all warm and fuzzy. Well, the compliment and the whisky in her glass. “Stop,” Dani mumbles, a cheesy grin on her face. 

“Not bloody likely. Now, I’m going to go put an order in for some food because I need to eat. You’re sure you don’t want anything?”

Dani shakes her head. “If I do change my mind, I’ll just eat some of whatever you get.”

“Oh, will ya now? What if I don’t let you?”

“You always say that and then you always let me.”

Jamie squints and purses her lips. She stands and slips her hands into her pockets then shakes her head. “You’re too cheeky for your own good sometimes.”

When Jamie turns around and heads in the direction of the bar in search of food, Dani watches her carefully the entire time. She can see the brunette also tracking her movement and when she gets up from her stool and approaches Jamie, Dani tenses up and she digs her nails into her thigh under the table. This feeling is completely new to her. Jealously. She doesn’t know how to react or if she even should. 

She’s never been in this position. She remembers being on the other side of things once or twice when out with Edmund but she didn’t care about any of that. She was so wholeheartedly indifferent to it all. Now though, this was different. Jamie was her girlfriend, her partner, her favourite person in the whole entire world and right now some other woman was looking like she was ready to pounce. 

The woman strikes up a conversation with Jamie and suddenly both of them are laughing. When Jamie turns and starts speaking to a man behind the bar, the brunette looks over at Dani then focuses all of her attention on Jamie once again. 

Dani scoots towards the edge of her seat in their booth, itching to jump up and join Jamie by the bar. _It’s probably nothing_ , she thinks. _No need to be worried_. But then Jamie is talking to her again and then the woman puts her hand on Jamie’s arm and leans into her and Dani can’t take it. How is she supposed to just sit idly by while some other beautiful woman flirts with her girlfriend? The woman looks down and brushes some hair behind her ear and then glances back up at Jamie who is speaking with the man behind the bar again. 

It was so painfully obvious to Dani. The scene unfolding at the bar is something she’s seen in so many films, but it’s the first time she’s seen it with two women and she doesn’t want to cause a scene or bring attention to them but her heart is beating too quickly in her chest. Jamie hands over some money and then smiles at something as the woman leans in again and says something else. 

That’s it. It’s all Dani can take so she downs the rest of her drink - liquid courage - and slips out of the booth and walks over to the bar with a kind of determination that she hasn’t had many other times in her life. 

“Hi,” she says as she approaches Jamie and the mysterious brunette. Jamie turns around and smiles at her and her heart does a little flip flop in her chest like it always does when Jamie looks at her and her gaze softens but then she remembers why she came over in the first place and that reason is looking at Jamie with desire in her eyes. 

“Poppins, I was just about to come back and join you. Food should be brought over in a coupla minutes.”

The brunette glances between them and frowns. “You mean you’re already leaving me so soon?”

Dani’s pulse quickens and she reaches out for Jamie’s hand and intertwines their fingers. “She’s here with someone else,” she says sternly. 

Jamie looks down at their hands and then back up at the other woman and suddenly everything Dani was saying makes sense. She should have known the signs, picked up on the tells, the body language. She had been guilty of using those tactics herself once or twice during her time in London but it was so long ago and she was so consumed by all things Dani, that she genuinely didn’t notice the other woman’s advances at all.

She can practically feel the jealousy pouring off of Dani. It’s a side of the blonde that she has never seen before and it’s a side that she really, really likes. She likes it so much in fact that she decides to completely ignore the food she’s just ordered because the only thing she’s hungry for now is Dani Clayton. 

“Are you sure you want to leave?” the brunette asks with a flirty tone in her voice. Her eyes are only on Jamie but Jamie’s eyes are only on Dani and without even bothering to say another word, Jamie turns and drags Dani away from the bar towards the door leading upstairs. 

“What are we…” Dani asks, losing her words as she’s pulled between tables, past the washrooms and dartboards and then Jamie is pushing open the door to the stairs and pushing Dani up against the wall on the other side. 

Jamie can’t wait to get Dani up the stairs so she kisses her against the wall in the dimly lit stairwell in a heated rush. One single bulb hangs above their heads but it’s enough light for Dani to see the look on Jamie’s face when she pulls away to take a breath. 

“Jamie,” Dani says quietly. “What just happened?”

“Sorry...I just...you were jealous and I guess it did something to me,” Jamie replies. 

“You guess?”

Jamie drops her head to Dani’s neck and smiles against the skin. “It really did something to me.”

“Yeah, I’ll say,” Dani says. They both laugh a little bit then Dani takes Jamie’s face in her hands and makes their eyes level. “You were laughing with her. She had her hand on your arm.”

Jamie tilts her head slightly and takes a deep breath. “Dani, I was a prat and so completely oblivious to it all. I really was just ordering my food and then she started talkin’ to me and I didn’t want to be rude. I was kind of annoyed that she kept interrupting me while I was trying to get Marcus behind the bar to take my order because I just wanted to get back over to you.”

Dani bows her head. “Yeah.”

“Hey, Poppins. Look at me.” Dani lifts her head and Jamie half-smiles. “It’s always you, okay? It’s only you.”

“I really was so jealous.”

“Oh, I know,” Jamie replies. “It was incredibly sexy.”

“Can you take me upstairs now?” 

Jamie leans in and brushes her lips against Dani’s. It’s featherlight and over before she can even react and then Jamie takes her hand again and leads them upstairs. As soon as they pass through the door into Jamie’s flat it’s nothing but discarded clothing, passionate kisses, and desperate hands searching for skin as they fall onto Jamie’s couch. It’s not the first time they don’t make it to the bed. 

“I love you,” Dani says. Her words come out in a shaky breath as Jamie is laying her back against the couch cushions and attaching her lips to her pulse point. She didn’t plan to say it. But there it was - out in the open now. The word had been there on the tip of her tongue for weeks. It was aching to spill from her lips but you never really plan to say it, do you? Love has a mind of its own that way. Love decides when it’s ready, and it has just decided in the heat of a passion-filled moment.

Love, real love, was something Dani didn’t think she’d ever find or feel, and the thought of that used to break her heart. She had been lonely and afraid for so long. So damn long. Then one day, Jamie strolled into the kitchen at Bly Manor with a patch of dirt on her forehead and cemented a place for herself in Dani’s life and nothing would ever be the same. And it hasn't been the same, life has become something extraordinary. Jamie made her feel whole. She made her feel like all the fear and running she had done in her life was worth it, because it was. It had led Dani to Bly, to Jamie. 

Jamie almost thinks she imagines it at first because there was no way she’d be lucky enough to be on the receiving end of that statement. How could she be when Dani is sunshine on a day when not a ray of sunshine can be found. Dani is warmth and joy and home. Dani is the glue that holds all of her broken and cracked pieces together. But then Jamie feels Dani tense and she sits up and stares down at her and she knows she didn’t imagine it.

They had both been feeling it there, simmering just below the surface. They could see it when the other wasn’t looking, it made itself known in the quiet moments, the whispered conversations, and stolen glances. Love. 

“I love you,” Dani says again. Her eyes turn glassy and when a single tear slips out and rolls down the side of her face, Jamie wipes it away with her thumb. 

“I love you too,” Jamie replies and it’s the truest thing she has ever said. 

“You mean it?”

Jamie leans back down and hovers over Dani. She holds her hand against Dani’s cheek and smiles the biggest and brightest smile she has ever smiled in her whole life. “I’ve never meant anything more.”

Dani raises her head and slips her hands in Jamie’s brown hair. She closes her eyes and kisses Jamie slowly and when she pulls back to catch her breath, she sheepishly grins. 

“Say it again,” she whispers. 

“I’ll say it if you do,” Jamie responds, lowering herself completely on top of Dani. They slip their arms around each other and then it’s quiet. The immensity of their words fills the room and they never, ever want to let go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone is interested, I listened to some music while writing these and I feel like it pairs well with the story. While writing the slow dance snapshot, I listened to a Moon River piano cover by Damian Syslo and Pintô by Otto Totland. While I was writing the section of the snapshot where Dani and Jamie confess their love for one another, I was listening to Same (Alternate Version) by Josie Dunne.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you all for the lovely comments on the last chapter! 
> 
> A reader by the name of A said they'd like to see a little bit of angst in the next chapter and a teeny but not so serious fight between Dani and Jamie. I hope I've done a good job with writing that! Please enjoy!

It’s just past 3 am and all of Bly Manor is quiet. Shadows dance across the floor of Dani’s bedroom as wind rustles through the trees outside. Dani has an arm draped across Jamie’s abdomen and the brunette’s chest softly rises and falls with each inhale and exhale of breath. Dani, still very much asleep, nuzzles into Jamie’s body and tugs her closer.

Suddenly, Jamie bolts up gasping for air. She claws at her chest, pulling the fabric of her night shirt away from her skin. Her breathing is shallow, panicked, and Dani wakes beside her and sits up. She’s confused at first and it takes a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dark room but even in her barely awake state she quickly notices that Jamie is not okay.

“Hey, hey, what happened?” she asks, trying to read the situation. There is fear etched across Jamie’s face and Dani slips a hand under the back of her shirt and starts rubbing soothing circles on bare skin. Jamie is still struggling to catch her breath and Dani lifts her other hand to cup her face and she turns her head. 

“Jamie,” Dani says, looking her right in the eye. “Look at me, okay? Look at me and breathe.”

Dani slowly inhales deeply and lifts her shoulders then exhales and lowers them. “In, out, in, out.” Jamie’s eyes dart around the room and her hands shake in front of her. Dani drops her hand from her cheek and reaches for Jamie’s trembling hands. She brings them together and covers them with the steadiness of her own. It helps a little, but not enough. 

“Hey, look at me,” she says but Jamie shakes her head and continues to frantically glance around. “No, no, look at me. Eyes on me. Breathe. In and out.”

Eventually Jamie’s breathing slows as she matches the rising and falling of Dani’s shoulders. They sit together, breathing in silence and Dani can almost feel the fear pouring out of the scared woman beside her but she knows to keep her focus on Jamie’s breaths, needs to try and steady her anyway she can. 

“Good, good,” she says. “That’s good.”

Jamie shuts her eyes and lifts her still shaky hands. She places them over her lungs as she breathes so she can feel the air enter and exit her body and Dani watches her carefully, waiting and ready to jump in if she’s needed. 

“I couldn’t…” Jamie says, eyes still closed, chest still deliberately and carefully rising and falling She searches for her words and even in the dark, Dani can make out the dread on her face. “I couldn’t b-breathe. Felt like I was...like I was drowning.”

“Oh, Jamie,” Dani replies. She wants to scoot in closer, wants to pull her close and tell her it’ll all be okay, but she doesn’t know what the other woman needs yet. She’s never been in this position and she doesn’t want to make things worse for her. She doesn’t want to add to her already overwhelming panic by eliminating any of her personal space so she sits idly but never tears her eyes away. “It was just a dream. Only a dream.”

“I was under water and I couldn’t...I couldn’t reach the surface,” Jamie says again and she starts to cry. Dani’s heart shatters in her chest at the sight before her. It’s a version of Jamie that she rarely gets to see. So vulnerable and scared...small, almost. It’s a version of Jamie she already knows that she never wants to see again and all she can do is sit there and be a light in the dark. All she can do is be a presence in the room, a tenderness for whenever Jamie decides she needs it.

“Shhh, Jamie, it’s okay. It was just a dream.” Dani’s hand on Jamie’s back continues its comforting movement and Jamie seems to collapse into herself. She brings her knees to her chest and wraps her arms around herself and cries. 

Dani wants to do more. She aches to do more but she simply sits beside Jamie in her bed while softly stroking her back and she breathes with her and quietly listens as the woman beside her cries and lets her body go through its own healing process. A couple of minutes later Jamie’s crying slowly subsides and she lifts her head and opens her eyes. She stares blankly ahead and her bottom lip quivers as a final tear rolls down her cheek. 

“I couldn’t reach the surface,” she says, repeating her earlier words as she wipes the tear from her cheek. She turns and looks at Dani now and then reaches out for her, needing to touch her, desperate for it. Jamie cups her face and looks into her eyes. “This is real, right? You’re real?”

“This is real. I’m here. You’re here. It was just a bad dream,” Dani says. Her voice truly registers with Jamie now and her panicked breathing becomes sighs of relief. 

“Dani, it felt so real. I thought I was done for. I thought I…”

Dani lifts her hand and places it over Jamie’s heart. “Thought what?”

“I thought I’d never get to see you again.” 

“Jamie…” Dani’s voice breaks slightly and now she moves in closer to Jamie. “This is real.” With the hand not covering her heart, she takes one of Jamie’s hands and places it over her own quickly beating one. “You can feel this, right?”

Jamie swallows and nods. She closes her eyes and focuses on the feeling beneath her hand, the feeling of Dani’s soft skin and rhythmic thud of her heart in her chest. It helps and she can feel some of the dread she was consumed when she sat up begin to fade away completely. “I can feel it.”

“Good.”

Dani says nothing as she allows Jamie the time she needs to find a sense of calm. A few minutes later Jamie opens her eyes again and looks at Dani. “I’m sorry,” she says. 

“For what?” Dani asks, furrowing her eyebrows. She then softens her gaze and moves the hand on Jamie’s heart up to her cheek. “Jamie, you can’t control what happens to you when you’re asleep. We all have bad dreams sometimes, some worse than others. I’d be lying to you if I said I’ve never woken up in a cold sweat, never shot straight up in bed because something awful flashed through my mind. You have nothing to apologize for.”

“I just haven’t had one like that in a long time. Not since…”

“Not since what?”

“Not since you. Not since sleeping with you. You’ve kept all of ‘em away and it’s been so much better.”

It’s a very honest confession and Dani knows how privileged she is to be on the other side of that honesty, she knows how long it’s probably been since Jamie has felt like she could truly be open with someone and the way her words are laced with such fondness and trust makes that impossible to ignore.

She knew that Jamie didn’t have an easy childhood, she had experienced a lifetime filled with traces of loneliness and loss, having to accept such big, hard truths at a young age. That would be enough to make sleep a challenge for anyone later in life because our ghosts never do tell us when they might reappear, do they? Dani was still learning so much about her, day by day, and with each new piece of information she feels closer to the woman beside her, closer than she’s ever been to another soul. Dani knows what it’s like to face your demons and she had spent a long time battling her own, she knew exactly how it felt to be completely overwhelmed by things you thought you’d long since dealt with. 

“Why did it happen again?” Jamie asks, no...she pleads. “It came out of nowhere.” 

Fear, Dani thinks, doesn’t care if you’re peacefully sleeping beside the woman you love. Fear doesn’t care about knocking the wind out of you and leaving you breathless when moments prior you were perfectly fine. Fear makes itself known whenever it deems fit and it was very cruel that way. 

“It’s okay, we’re both here and this is real and we’re alive,” Dani’s thumb slowly moves back and forth across a damp cheek and then she pulls her hand away and lays back against the  
bed with her arms open. “Come here.”

Jamie obliges and settles down into Dani’s warm embrace. She rests her head on her shoulder and then Dani pulls the blankets up over them. Jamie stretches her arm out and slips it under Dani’s shirt and across her torso. She lets her fingers dance across warm skin until they find a home as she grips her side and holds her tightly. She closes her eyes and allows a quiet calm to wash over them both. 

“Have you had that specific dream before?” Dani asks, her voice is low but loud enough to break through the silence. 

“First time for everything,” Jamie replies. 

“Do you feel a bit better now?” Dani lifts her hand up to Jamie's head and starts to gently brush her fingers through softy curly locks of hair. 

Jamie cuddles into Dani even more and nods her head. “Much better. Thank you, for being here, for helping me breathe.”

Dani turns and kisses Jamie’s forehead. “I hope I’m always here to help if you have a bad dream and you can talk to me, about anything. I love you.”

It’s quiet again and Dani wonders if Jamie is choosing her response carefully or if the ordeal had left her spent, it had just been too much and now she was so exhausted that she had nothing left to say. “Jamie?” she whispers but receives no response and then she hears the sound of soft, even breathing and she ducks her gaze down slightly and looks at Jamie, with her eyes shut and lips parted as her chest rises and falls steadily. She looks peaceful now, like whatever darkness had just plagued her mind was completely gone and Dani knows that she never wants Jamie to have to go through anything like that alone ever again. Neither of them have to go through it alone, not when they have each other.

~~~~~~~

The day wasn’t supposed to end in an argument. Fighting with the person you love, or anyone, was never pleasant and Dani hated every second of it but for days now Jamie had been completely disregarding a simple request that she had made and she wasn’t sure what else she could do to get Jamie to really listen to her. 

It was stupid thing to fight about. A silly, stupid thing. What made it even more ridiculous is that Jamie was a clean person in most areas of her life. Never trudged dirt into the house, always took off her muddy boots and washed her hands first before doing anything else. But when it came to the towel she would use after the shower’s she’d take when she was done digging around in the garden all day, she simply couldn’t drop it in the laundry bin and would leave it hung draped over the edge of the bath-tub where it would end up slipping to the floor. 

The first time Dani asked her to put it in the laundry bin was before bed one night the week before. Jamie had smiled and kissed her, and insisted that from now on she would take care of it and apologized for leaving it laying around but then the next day, there it was hung over the edge of the bathtub again. Dani had a second conversation with her about it a day later and Jamie had said, _Sorry, love. Totally slipped my mind. I promise to drop it in the bin._

It wasn’t much to ask and Dani wasn’t a neat freak but Jamie forgetting to complete the simple task made her feel as though the woman wasn’t really listening to her when she spoke. In one ear, out the other. The final straw came after Jamie walked out of the washroom that day before lunch, her hair wet and clinging to her face. She had strolled into the house with her arms covered in mud and had trudged up the stairs to find Dani on the bed reading. When Dani had looked up, she noticed how dirty Jamie was and knew what she had come upstairs to do so she asks Jamie once again to put the dirty towel in the laundry bin after her shower. Jamie pretended as though she was going to climb onto the bed and kiss Dani but the blonde laughed and scooted away from her dirty embrace and then she smiled, said she’d take care of the towel and disappeared into the washroom. 

Dani watches her get dressed and then Jamie sits on the bed beside her and kisses her sweetly. 

“I’m headin’ down to the basement to help Hannah with somethin’, Poppins,” Jamie says. “I’ll see you at lunch, yeah?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you at lunch,” Dani replies. She smiles as Jamie gets up from the bed and walks out of the room, a pep in her step and a sway in her hips. Dani spends the next twenty minutes reading but sets the book aside and gets up to go use the washroom. When she enters the room, she flicks on the light and the first thing her eyes land on is the towel...draped over the edge of the bathtub...halfway on the floor. She picks up the towel and angrily tosses it into the laundry bin right beside the sink. 

Dani is mad. She doesn’t want to be mad, but she’s mad. She knows it’s a dumb thing to be mad about but she just can’t help it. When she heads down to the kitchen for lunch, Jamie is already seated at the table with the others and Dani doesn’t take her usual place beside her but instead sits on the opposite side of the table. 

The children and Owen and Hannah both glance around at one another and look to Jamie who narrows her eyes and tilts her head as she looks at Dani. “Somethin’ wrong with this seat?” Jamie asks and points to the empty chair beside her. 

Dani shakes her head and picks up a glass of water. She brings it to her mouth and takes a drink then sets the glass back down and places her napkin across her lap. “Nope,” she says. 

“You’re sure?” Jamie asks, a confused expression on her face. 

Their relationship hadn’t been a secret for quite some time now and everyone in the manor was so used to them sitting beside one another. They were so used to seeing two smiling women whose hands were always touching, two women who always glanced at each other lovingly. That’s not at all what they see in the room today at lunch time and none of them really understands why, Jamie included. 

”Miss Clayton, is Jamie not your girlfriend anymore? You always sit beside Jamie when we eat and she looks sad. It’s not nice when people are sad,” Flora innocently says.

Neither Jamie or Dani address the young girl’s question and everyone continues to sit in an awkward silence.

Owen coughs and begins to serve the pasta he’s made for their meal and the room stays quiet. Jamie’s shoulders drop and she feels a little hurt, completely unaware of why Dani chose to sit apart from her. It’s not that they needed to be glued at the hip and always close to one another, it’s just that they always were so it was very unusual for there to be any kind of distance between them.

“Love a little pesto pasta, don’t we?” Owen jokes as he scoops some onto Dani’s plate and then rounds the table and scoops some onto Jamie’s. Dani half smiles but says nothing and she picks up her fork and starts to eat. 

Miles and Flora lose interest in the situation and jump into telling a story about the fort they want to build out by the trees near the statue garden. 

“I think I’m going to put a sign outside that says no boys allowed,” Flora says.

“Hey! That’s not fair. It’s our fort, not just yours,” Miles argues. 

“But there are four girls, Miles,” Flora replies. “Four girls and only two boys.”

“Your brother is allowed in your fort, Flora. If you build it together, you use it together,” Dani says. 

Jamie glances up at her and half-smiles. She wants to reach across the table and take her hand and ask what’s wrong, ask what’s changed, what she did, but she just sits quietly and eats her lunch. Dani can feel the gardeners eyes on her but she doesn’t meet her gaze and she knows it’s petty and childish to give her the silent treatment over a towel in the laundry bin but she can’t help it. She’s just so annoyed and upset that her one request continues to be ignored. 

“Miss Clayton is right,” Hannah adds. “Sharing is important and I bet you’ll be glad you both get to use. It’ll be more fun that way.”

Flora pouts and sits back in her seat and Miles smiles, giddy to have gotten his way. 

When they finish lunch, Dani takes her plate to the sink and washes it and then looks to Flora and Miles. “Okay you two, classroom in ten minutes.”

“Can we have our lesson outside this afternoon, Miss Clayon?” Miles asks. 

Jamie gets up and looks at Dani then back at Miles. “I don’t know Miles,” she says and walks over to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. “I think Miss Clayon probably has some great work planned for you lot, best to just head to the classroom like she’s said.”

Dani still doesn’t look at her and she wipes her hands on a tea towel and shakes her head. “Classroom in ten minutes, please.” She silently walks out of the kitchen and everyone watches her as she does. 

“Did we miss something?” Owen asks. “That felt a bit tense.”

“Wish I knew,” Jamie says. Her hand drops from Miles' shoulder and she walks out of the kitchen and exits the manor through the door beside the servants staircase. 

Later that day, they all eat dinner together in a similar fashion with Dani sitting across from Jamie, not even glancing in her direction once during the whole meal. She had spent the entire afternoon ripping weeds from a garden, racking her brain trying to figure out what it is that could have happened to make Dani act the way she’s acting. She could only draw a blank and it was incredibly frustrating. It felt unfair and the lack of Dani in her day, though not by her own choosing, was a stark reminder that the au pair had become such an integral part of her every day. She is what made every day better and brighter and something had happened to pull them apart. How could things have changed so drastically between the time she left Dani in the bedroom and when they sat down for lunch?

Dani walks into the kitchen in the evening after settling Flora and Miles into their beds for the night and Hannah is in the process of making a pot of tea. She hears footsteps and glances over her shoulder and smiles when she finds Dani approaching the kitchen island. 

“Cup of tea, dear?” Hannah asks. Dani nods and smiles and then goes to the table and sits down. Hannah pours them each a cup and carries over a tray with milk and sugar. 

“Thank you,” Dani says. Hannah holds out one of the teacups and Dani accepts it then spoons one teaspoon of sugar into the cup and pours in a little milk. 

“So, what’s on your mind?” 

“Nothing,” Dani says as she brings the cup to her lips. 

Hannah studies her curiously and shakes her head. “I don’t believe that, dear. You and Jamie haven’t said two words to each other today and that is very unusual.”

“You noticed that?” Dani asks but doesn’t look at Hannah. She fixes her gaze on the cup in her hands, focusing on the feeling of the warmth against her skin. 

“We all noticed, but I’d imagine Jamie was the one who was most surprised by the lack of communication.”

“I’m mad at her,” Dani admits. “For a reason that I know is silly but still, I’m upset.”

“Why? What’s happened?”

Dani sighs and sits up straighter in her chair. She looks at Hannah now and shrugs her shoulders. “She just isn’t listening to me when I ask her to do something simple and it feels like she’s not really paying attention when I speak to her.”

Hannah doesn’t say anything and simply sips her tea, allowing Dani to continue when she’s ready. 

“I’ve asked her every day for a week now to put her towel in the laundry bin after her showers and she promises me she’ll do it but then every time, I find them draped over the side of the bath. I don’t know how many times I need to ask her before she’ll listen.”

“Jamie has always been a bit stubborn that way, and it’s not that she’s not listening to you. She’s always got a lot on her mind for as long as I’ve known her, she’s been a very independent woman. Maybe she’s just not used to being so...domestic with someone else.”

“But it’s just so frustrating because to me, it seems like such an easy thing to do. You’ve used a towel, so now it’s dirty. Put it where the dirty laundry belongs.”

Hannah smiles and sets her teacup down on the table. “You’re not really upset about the towel.”

Dani shakes her head. “No. I’m upset that she’s not listening to me. I just don’t feel heard.”

“Well…” Hannah reaches her hand across the table and places it on top of Dani’s. “I think you should go and tell her that. You didn’t see her but she was moping about in the weeds all day and she hasn’t looked that miserable in a very long time.”

“And you don’t think I was miserable?” Dani asks, her words soft but honest. “I’ve hated not speaking to her today.”

“So I think it’s time you go find her and change that then, don’t you?”

Hannah was right. Dani knew she was right. She knew that not speaking to Jamie wasn’t going to fix the problem, as silly as it was. All it had done is make her feel lonely and she had already been lonely for so much of her life. A good relationship required good communication and she wasn’t allowing that to happen. Jamie didn’t deserve to be treated this way and Dani knows it.

When she makes it up to her bedroom after finishing her tea with Hannah in the kitchen, Jamie is laying in the bed already under the covers facing away from the door. It’s still early but it’s so quiet in the room that Dani thinks she might be asleep. 

“Hi,” she says. Jamie doesn’t turn over, doesn’t do anything in fact so Dani rounds the bed and finds her with her eyes open, focused on the wall. She sits on the edge of the bed and puts an arm on her waist. “I'm sorry.”

“Don’t know what to say to that, Poppins, because I’m not really sure what you might be sorry for,” Jamie replies. Her voice is quiet and sad and Dani hates it. 

“I’m sorry for ignoring you today, for not sitting beside you.”

Jamie glances up at Dani and then pulls herself up in the bed so her back is against the headboard. “Did I do somethin’ wrong?”

“Kind of. But I shouldn’t have treated you the way I did because of it.”

“Care to fill me in on the mistakes I may have made?” Jamie asks. She scratches her head and then raises her arms and drops them. “Because I’ve been up here alone takin’ the piss, trying to figure out if I missed an important date or forgot to compliment you but then I remembered that I don’t do that.”

“You forgot to put your dirty towel in the laundry bin after I reminded you...again,” Dani says. She stands and starts to pace across the floor beside the bed. “And I’m not mad about the towel. It’s stupid to be mad about a towel. I’m mad that you just aren’t listening to me. I’m mad that I feel like my words have gone completely unheard.”

“Jesus, Dani. Is the towel really that big of a deal?”

“Like that,” Dani replies. Her voice is quiet but laced with frustration and disappointment. She stops and puts her hands on her hips. “I just said it wasn’t even about the towel and your response is about the towel.”

Jamie pulls back the covers and gets up off the bed. She walks towards Dani and reaches out for her hands. “Is that really how you feel? You don’t think I listen to you?”

Dani’s resolve slightly crumbles and she drops her gaze. “Sometimes.”

“Dani, I listen to you. I do. I’ve just spent so much time on my own and something like a towel in the bin has never been important to me because up until not so long ago, the only person it affected was me and now there’s you and I’m still adjusting to that. I’m sorry if it’s taking me longer to change my habits, because I want to. I really do. You make me want to change so much.”

“I didn’t want to ignore you today...but I just couldn’t stop myself from doing it,” Dani says. "It was horrible." 

Jamie puts a finger under her chin and lifts her head so their eyes meet. “I’m sorry if I made you feel like I don’t listen. I hate that you felt so strongly about it that you couldn’t even sit near me today, which by the way felt so bloody strange. I will do better. I promise I will do better and I mean it.”

“I missed you today,” Dani whispers. “I didn’t like being mad at you.”

“But I deserved it. I was being a twat and I left the towel over the tub and I’m sorry. If I do it again, give me a whack, yeah?”

Dani laughs and the sound is a welcome addition to the quiet tension in the room. “Deal,” she says and takes a step towards Jamie who brushes some hair behind her ear and then tugs her into her arms. 

Even an afternoon spent apart from each other felt like a lifetime and that was a little scary to admit but they both felt the same way. The thought doesn’t linger long though and fades from their minds as Dani sinks deeper to Jamie’s embrace. She listens carefully to the sound of her heartbeat and smiles. Jamie pulls away from their hug and cups Dani's face. She leans in and kisses her softly and Dani hums into her mouth as their lips move together in the most perfect way. She starts to walk them back towards the bed and Dani opens her eyes and pulls her lips from Jamie's. 

"What are you doing?" she asks. 

"We were fighting, Poppins" Jamie replies. "And now we're going to make up."

She falls back onto the bed pulls a grinning Dani on top of her.

~~~~~~~

The night before was a little bit of a blur. Dani knows that she and Jamie had maybe one too many drinks downstairs in the pub and stumbled their way upstairs laughing, clinging to each other. She can’t remember any of the conversation they had when they were tucked away in their corner booth but she remembers the silent look Jamie shot her way. The one that says, _you’re gorgeous and I want you upstairs right now_. She remembers how they clung to each other as they stumbled their way into the bedroom. She remembers how Jamie had trapped her against a wall and kissed her passionately and then there were lips glued to her neck and very skilled hands roaming her body. There was clothing torn off bodies, discarded and tossed aside and then they had fallen into Jamie’s bed in a heated rush of desire and built up sexual tension and it was incredible and delicious and passionate. 

Dani stirs in bed beside Jamie, their bodies only half covered by the blankets. Her face is nestled into the space between Jamie’s shoulder and neck and her arm is draped over her waist. She inhales, gently rubbing her nose against soft, pale skin and her eyes flutter open. She smiles at the sight of curly brown hair beside her and rubs her eyes then glances around the room. Early morning sun pours in through the curtains and fills the room with soft silky rays of light and she can see specks of dust float through the sunshine. Jamie’s bedroom is small and unassuming but it fits her perfectly.

There are shelves with viney plants spilling off them and books stacked in unorganized piles. There are two framed black and white photos on the wall beside the window that have always made Dani curious but she has never taken the time to ask about them. One dresser sits in the corner with a drawer half open, t-shirts spilling out of it and a mostly bare closet aside from a jacket that is much too big for Jamie and a handful of well-worn jumpsuits hanging on thin metal hangers. Dani had now woken up many times in this small bedroom and it was always nice to spend time in Jamie’s own private little world away from the manor. She felt lucky to be allowed the chance to step into her world, to be invited in. 

The body in the bed beside her shifts and Dani’s eyes float back towards Jamie, curled up and asleep. Her gaze travels over the expanse of skin not covered by the blankets and she wants to reach out and run her hands across it but won’t, not wanting to wake the sleeping woman. She leans forward slightly and kisses Jamie’s shoulder then slowly slips out of the bed. She scans the floor and finds her underwear then picks them up and pulls them on but instead of putting on her own sweater, which she finds strewn across a laundry bin, she gathers Jamie’s flannel shirt and slips it on. 

Dani looks back over her shoulder at Jamie then carefully steps out of the bedroom and walks into the kitchen. She doesn’t button up the flannel but pulls it around her midsection and inhales the familiar, comforting scent of the woman she loves. The shirt smells slightly of cigarette smoke and whisky, remnants of their evening in the pub, but it also smells of the woodsy perfume that Jamie sometimes wore and the shampoo she uses when she washes her hair - it’s a unique and addictive smell that Dani wants to live in. She pads across the floor towards the kitchen sink in bare feet and takes a bag of ground coffee out of a cupboard, one that Jamie keeps only for her, and then she fills a small kettle with hot water and turns on a burner, setting the kettle on the stove.

As the water begins to boil, she wanders around the open space of the small apartment and admires all of the greenery and flowers that Jamie had scattered throughout the area. It was impressive to see them all in such lively condition considering Jamie had been spending less and less time at her own apartment. _Only Jamie could keep all of this alive,_ she thinks. _Only she could take care of all this life and not just keep it alive, but truly let it blossom and thrive._ There’s a framed photo on a table by the sofa and Dani picks it up and smiles. She runs her finger over an image of a grinning Jamie with her arms around Owen and Hannah and she knows that whatever moment is encapsulated within the borders of the photo is a special one because Jamie looks so happy. 

There’s an unfinished puzzle on the coffee table that she had brought with her one evening and Jamie had complained the whole time they worked on it, claiming the puzzle was fixed because the pieces didn’t really fit together.

“How does anyone finish one of these bloody things when none of damn pieces actually connect? Whole thing seems a bit dodgy to me,” she had said.

They didn’t make it far in the puzzle process and it was very quickly abandoned when a hand ghosted across her thigh, a pair of warm lips kissed along her neck, and a delicious accented voice whispered in her ear. After that, she was a goner and so was the puzzle. The rest of that evening was spent far away from the pieces scattered across the table. 

The kettle starts to build towards its high pitched boiling point and Dani rushes back over to the stove and turns off the burner. She fills a small metal french press coffee maker with some of the coffee grounds and then slowly pours water from the kettle over them. The delicious smell of coffee brewing fills the room and Dani lifts the french press to her nose and breathes in. It’s an invigorating scent and she instantly feels more awake. She stands against the kitchen counter as she waits for the coffee to be ready and she loses herself in the tranquility she finds in the early morning silence. She loved her time in the manor but it was nice to get away from it for a night and it was even nicer to wake when she wanted to, not when there were children waiting to prepare for the day with her help. It was nice to wake up in Jamie’s bed.

Dani doesn’t hear Jamie approach her from behind and then a pair of cold hands slip underneath the flannel shirt and slide around her abdomen. She startles slightly at the contact but then she smiles and leans back into Jamie’s embrace. 

“Wondered where’d you disappeared to,” Jamie says. “Bed was cold without you.”

“I didn’t want to wake you. I’m pretty sure you drank more than I did last night,” Dani replies and laughs a little bit. 

"'Scuse me, we both drank a lot, Poppins. At least I can hold my liquor better than you can.”

They both laugh now and then Jamie nuzzles her nose against Dani’s back, against her own shirt, and Dani spins around in her arms. Jamie’s eyes fall to the gap between both sides of the shirt and the view of Dani’s bare chest and she licks her lips at the sight.

“Barely. You’re cute when you’re drunk,” Dani says. 

Jamie swallows as she admires a very much underdressed Dani in her arms. “You nicked my shirt,” she says. She brings her hands up to the collar of her flannel shirt and steps in closer to Dani. “Looks better on you though. You should wear it like this all the time.”

“Mmhmm. You’d like that, wouldn’t you? But if I did that, it wouldn’t be as special.”

Jamie smirks and drops her hands back down to Dani’s torso. She slides them under the shirt and around Dani’s waist, resting them on the small of her back. “I disagree, love. I think it would always be very, very special.”

“Coffee’s nearly ready,” Dani reaches her hands out and grips the countertop behind her as Jamie slips a leg between her thighs. 

“Don’t really fancy a cup of coffee right now,” Jamie says. Her eyes drift down to Dani’s lips and when she looks back up, Dani is gazing at her with a mix of lust and adoration. 

“What would you rather have?” Dani asks and Jamie answers the question by eliminating the very small distance between them and kissing her. She pushes her hips forward and pins Dani even closer to the counter, making Dani lose her grip and her hands fly forward and cup Jamie’s face. The kiss is deep and passionate and Dani see’s stars behind her eyelids. 

Jamie pulls back and Dani’s head darts forward, lips searching for hers again but she doesn’t indulge her and just watches, admiring the freckles across the bridge of her nose and the way her messy from sleep golden hair falls around her face. Dani opens her eyes and she smiles. 

“Not fair,” she says. “You can’t kiss a girl like that and then just pull away.”

“Don’t worry, Poppins. There will be more kisses. How about we leave the coffee and you come back to bed, hmm? You know I always like to start my mornings with you.”

“But the coffee smells so good,” Dani quietly replies. Her voice is thick with arousal and she knows the direction they’re headed in because they’ve been there before, more than once, right in the kitchen against the counter. 

Jamie moves back in and presses her lips to Dani’s collarbone. The blonde arches into the contact and whimpers quietly when lips ghost across her chest, leaving featherlight kisses, and make their way up her neck to her ear. “You smell so much better, Poppins,” Jamie whispers and then brings her hands up to the collar of the shirt and slips it off Dani’s shoulders. “Don’t even need the bed for what I'm going to do with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know a couple of these are bit more angsty but I felt it was nice to show Dani and Jamie experiencing different things in their relationship. Next time it’ll be back to total fluff and bliss!
> 
> ps: I'd love to know your thoughts and if there are any other things you'd like to see happen with these two, because I'd be happy to write them! x


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, friends! Back with a few more little snapshots! Sorry for the extended break, the holidays are a bit crazy even when you're in a lockdown! A user by the name Jamie_e suggested a hurt Jamie with Dani needing to comfort her so I hope I've delivered on that idea and I hope you enjoy the other two little stories as well!
> 
> As always - thank you for the wonderful comments, and thank you so much for reading! x

They didn’t mean to end up in this position. It was a completely innocent trip down into the cellar but a quiet moment alone together was becoming harder and harder to find and Jamie decides to take advantage of the opportunity as she pushes Dani against the cold brick wall. Two windows above their heads let in small slivers of mid-morning sun and as Jamie brushes aside Dani’s hair, the item they had come downstairs for becomes completely forgotten. 

“We shouldn’t...not here,” Dani says as Jamie kisses and sucks on her neck. 

“Or we absolutely should,” Jamie replies and slips her hands under the hem of Dani’s shirt, and drags her nails across the soft skin she finds.

“But what if Owen has to come down to get some cans.”

Jamie smiles against Dani’s skin and then moves her lips up to the shell of her ear. “Makes it a bit more fun, Poppins. The thrill of being caught.”

Dani shivers at the sensation of warm breath against her ear and she slips a leg in between Jamie’s. “Kiss me.”

“Yes ma’am,” Jamie whispers and kisses her way across Dani’s jaw and up to her lips. When their lips meet it’s as though fireworks go off and Dani slips her tongue into Jamie’s mouth and rocks her hips forward. Jamie brings her hands to the waist of Dani’s skirt and is just about to slip a hand under the waistband when the door at the top of the stairs creaks open and they hear the footsteps of someone descending the stairs. 

“I told you!” Dani whispers.

“I’ll just be a second, Hannah,” Owen says. “I know there’s a jar of pickles down here somewhere.”

Jamie and Dani quickly jump apart and Dani fixes her outfit and starts to rummage through a box, doing her best to look busy and not at all flustered and very, very turned on. Owen gets to the bottom of the stairs and walks a couple of feet to click on the small lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. He pulls on the string and suddenly light spreads throughout the dark cellar and Owen turns to his left and jumps when he finds Dani and Jamie standing against the wall. 

“Christ,” Owen says and brings a hand to his heart. “You nearly killed me. What are you two doing down here in the dark?”

“Found it!” Dani shouts as she pulls a roll of twine out of a box. 

Jamie takes the twine from Dani and waves at him with it in her hand. “Desperately needed some of this. Knew it was down here, recruited Dani to look. Better be on our way now, lots to do,” she says and reaches for Dani’s hand and together they hurry past Owen and run up the stairs. He looks over at the box by the wall and scratches his head. 

They nearly get caught again when Jamie finds Dani reading in the library one afternoon. She comes to stand behind the couch and puts her arms around Dani and kisses her on the cheek. 

“Good book?” she asks then rounds the couch and falls back against it beside Dani. 

“Mmm,” Dani replies without tearing her eyes away. 

“How good?”

“Very good.”

Jamie scoots in closer to Dani and plays with the hem of her sweater. She lets her fingers dip under the fabric of the sweater and runs them along the waistband of Dani’s jeans with a featherlight touch. 

Dani keeps her eyes fixed on the pages in front of her and Jamie smirks as she feels Dani’s abdominal muscles twitch beneath her fingers. When she swiftly pops open the button of the jeans, Dani looks at her. 

“What are you doing?” she asks. 

“Don’t know what you’re talkin’ about, Poppins,” Jamie replies with a smirk. “I’m just sitting with you while you read.”

Deft fingers slowly drag down the zipper of the jeans and Dani’s breath hitches in her throat. Jamie brings her fingers back up and runs them along the skin of Dani’s waist again then slips them under the elastic of her underwear. 

“How’s the book now?” she asks. 

“Less...interesting,” Dani says, her voice just above a whisper. She shuts her eyes as Jamie’s fingers slip even lower. 

Jamie studies Dani’s face as she pulls her hand out and puts it on her stomach. She splays her fingers across the soft skin and smiles when a small pout forms on Dani’s face. “What’s wrong?” 

“Jamie…” Dani blinks open her eyes and huffs in frustration. “You interrupted me while I’m reading just to tease me. That’s not very nice.”

“Oh, you want me to be nice, Poppins? I can be very nice,” Jamie whispers and quickly brings her hand back to the waistband of Dani’s underwear. She is about to slip her hand underneath the fabric again and slide her fingers down to where she knows Dani wants them when they hear the familiar sound of Hannah’s heels on the hardwood floor as she walks towards the room. Jamie pulls her hand away and leans back against the couch and closes her eyes and Dani immediately drops the book to her lap to cover the fact that her pants are undone.

“Afternoon ladies,” Hannah says when she walks into the library. “Anything exciting going on today?

Dani shakes her head. “Not at all, feeling pretty lazy to be honest. This one can barely keep her eyes open. She’s been working so hard.”

“How’s the book?” Hannah asks. 

“Oh.” Dani glances down at the book open on her lap and she swallows and smiles. “Good. It’s uh, it’s a steamier read than I expected but it’s good.”

“Right. Well, shall I make a pot of tea for us then?” Hannah smiles brightly and looks between the two women on the couch, completely unaware of what she had just walked in on.

“Tea sounds lovely, Hannah. Thank you.”

“It’s no trouble. Would you like to have tea in the kitchen or should I bring a pot to the library?”

Jamie yawns and stretches her arms above her head. “We’ll come to you,” she says.

When Hannah leaves them alone again in the library, Jamie starts to laugh and Dani pulls the book away and zips up her pants, and does the button up. She pulls herself up from the couch and puts her hands on her hips. 

“We have got to stop doing this in such public places,” she says. “One of these days Miles or Flora is going to stumble into a room and wonder why your hand is in my pants.”

“That’s the problem, Dani. We haven’t been able to DO anything because people keep interrupting us. And those two will learn all about the birds and the bees someday anyway.”

Dani takes a step towards Jamie and kisses her deeply then pulls back and heads off towards the kitchen. “I’m going to get tea,” she calls out.

“Now who's the tease,” Jamie says to herself as she gets up and follows Dani out of the room. 

Later that night, long after the lights of Bly Manor have been turned off and everyone has been tucked in, Dani and Jamie collapse against the bed, out of breath and covered in a thin sheen of sweat. 

“Blimey,” Jamie says as she pulls the blankets up over her bare chest. 

“That was...wow,” Dani manages to say as her own chest heaves. She wipes damp hair off of her forehead and turns over onto her side and looks at Jamie with a big smile on her face. 

“Guess we both needed that one,” Jamie says with a laugh. Dani puts a hand on Jamie’s collarbone and softly moves her fingers across it. 

“We did. We really, really did.”

Jamie follows Dani’s movement and turns over on her side and looks into Dani’s eyes. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Dani replies and leans in and kisses Jamie softly. 

When morning comes, Dani and Jamie enter the kitchen together and sit down at the table for breakfast in their usual seats. 

“Morning ladies,” Owen says as he puts a plate of food down in front of them and takes his own seat across from Hannah. Jamie places a hand on Dani’s thigh under the table and squeezes it gently and Dani grins at her as she picks up a cup of tea. 

“Did everyone sleep well last night?” she asks and has a sip.

“I woke up in the night to get a glass of water,” Flora says. “And as I was walking down the hall, I thought someone was getting hurt inside Miss Clayton’s room.”

Dani nearly chokes on her tea as she swallows it. 

“Wha...what do you mean, Flora?” Jamie asks. 

Owen and Hannah look between each other and then both glance back at Flora. 

“I heard loud moaning,” Flora continues. “It sounded like someone was in pain. After the moaning, I heard Miss Clayton yell Jamie’s name and I was so worried that something was wrong.”

Dani coughs and Jamie squeezes her leg again. She puts her teacup back down and repositions herself in her chair and glances over at Owen and Hannah who are both doing their best to conceal a knowing smile. 

“But then,” Flora says as she pops a piece of fruit in her mouth. “The noise stopped and I decided it was alright.”

“Miss Clayton had a bad dream,” Jamie quickly says. “She had a terribly bad dream and when she woke up she was very scared and I helped her to feel less scared and then she could fall back asleep.”

Flora swallows her fruit and frowns. “Oh, Miss Clayton. I’m so sorry. I hate it when I have bad dreams. You’re very lucky to have Jamie there to help you when you have a bad dream. I wish she could help me. She’s the best.”

Dani can’t help but smile softly at the young girl who simply shrugs her shoulders then turns all of her attention back to the food on her plate. Owen and Hannah try to wipe the smiles off of their faces, knowing full well what the young girl had heard when she walked past the room but they keep their opinions to themselves and start to chat about something else entirely. 

Jamie leans into Dani closely. “Very lucky indeed,” she whispers.

~~~~~~~

“Owen left us in charge of making these for dessert tonight and I promised him we would do a good job. Are you two up for it?”

Miles and Flora look up at Dani with big beaming smiles and enthusiastically nod their heads. Dani puts an apron over each of their heads and secures it tightly behind their backs. She finds one of Owen’s chef hats tucked away in a drawer and puts it on top of her own head. 

“He told us we could make oatmeal or chocolate chip. What kind should we choose?”

“Hmm…” Flora thinks for a moment and then it’s as if a lightbulb goes off. “Let’s make chocolate chip biscuits because Jamie loves chocolate chip biscuits and I love Jamie. She’s been outside by herself all day and maybe we can bring her some before dinner.”

Dani smiles at the young girl. “I like your thinking, Flora.” She turns to Miles and kneels so she’s at eye level with him. “What do you think, Miles? Chocolate chip?”

“Definitely,” he replies. Dani stands and claps her hands together. 

“Great! So, I need three eggs, some milk, and some butter from the fridge. Who wants to get that for me?”

“Me! I can get it, Miss Clayton,” Miles says. 

“Perfect. I’ll get the flour and the chocolate chips and Flora, can you please get two bowls from the bottom cupboard over there?”

“Yes!” Flora replies. 

Within minutes all of the ingredients and supplies they need are spread out across the large kitchen island and Miles and Flora each stand on a stool on either side of Dani as she reads through the instructions in the cookbook. 

“Okay so...we need to crack the eggs into one of the bowls. Do either of you know how to crack an egg?”

They both shake their heads and Dani picks one up. “I’ll do one and then you can each do one of the other eggs. So, you tap it hard on the edge of the bowl so you get a big crack in the side of it.”

Dani taps the egg on the edge of the bowl and then holds the egg with her fingers on each side of the crack. “And then you pull the egg apart like this over the bowl so the whole shell breaks in half and what’s inside drops in to the bowl. I’m sure you’ve watched Owen do this a hundred times but now you can try. Flora, you first.”

Flora picks up her egg and smacks it against the edge of the bowl with force and then holds it over the bowl and breaks apart the shell in her hand. The egg whites and yolk drop down into the bowl along with small fragments of the eggshell. 

“That’s...sort of the idea,” Dani says with a laugh. She picks out the pieces of the eggshell and turns to Miles. “Ready for your turn?”

He nods and picks up his egg and holds it delicately in his hands. He taps it against the edge of the metal bowl until a crack appears and then he does exactly as Dani had done and pulls the shell apart. The egg drops into the bowl and he proudly leans back and holds out the now empty eggshell. 

“I did it!”

“You sure did, buddy! Now I’m going to melt some butter and then we’ll start pouring the dry ingredients into the other bowl okay?”

Dani puts a small dish of butter in the microwave and once it’s melted she takes her place between Miles and Flora again and gets them to measure out the dry ingredients in the measuring cups and put them into the bowl as she pours the melted butter and milk into the bowl with the eggs. Once all of the dry ingredients have found their way into the bowl, there is flour and sugar covering the ground around their feet and they’ve all somehow ended up with flour on their faces. 

“You look like a ghost, Miss Clayton,” Flora says with a giggle. 

“I think we all look like ghosts, Flora,” Dani replies and they all laugh. “It looks like one of you will be on sweeping duty.”

“Do we add all of the ingredients together in one bowl now?” Miles asks. 

“We sure do. You want to do the honours?” Dani asks. She hands him the bowl with the wet ingredients. “You pour this into the bowl with the flour and I’ll stir as you do and then your sister can add the chocolate chips.”

He carefully empties the bowl with the eggs, butter, and milk into the bowl with the sugar and flour and Dani takes a whisk and stirs everything together as he does and continues to stir all of the ingredients together once he puts the empty bowl back down on the counter. “Flora, you’re in charge of the chocolate chips, okay? Think you can handle it?”

“Of course I can handle it, Miss Clayton,” Flora says as she picks some chocolate chips out of a small bowl and pops them into her mouth. “Just had to try them to make sure they were perfect for Jamie.”

Flora sprinkles the chocolate chips into the bowl and Dani mixes them into the rest of the cookie batter. She hands Miles the whisk and gets him to continue the stirring while she preheats the oven and lines a baking sheet with a strip of parchment paper. 

“How’s it looking, Miles? Should we all give it a taste?”

He eagerly nods and Dani comes back between them and holds up the whisk so they can each swipe some of the batter off of it with their fingers. Miles and Flora hum in approval as they taste the sweet batter. 

“It’s amazing,” Flora says and Dani laughs. 

“I’m glad you think so. Now we’re going to spoon the batter onto the baking sheet in small amounts so when the cookies bake, they won’t spread into one another and make one big cookie.”

Just as Dani is handing them each a spoon, Jamie walks into the kitchen and raises her eyebrows as she takes in the messy scene before her. 

“Looks like a cookie bomb went off in here. Have you lot seen Flora, Miles, and Miss Clayton? All I see are some cookie monsters.”

Flora steps off of her stool and runs towards Jamie. “It’s us, Jamie. It’s just flour!”

Jamie kneels and examines Flora’s face. “Don’t know if I believe you...because maybe that’s just what a cookie monster would say.”

Flora rubs some of the flour off of her face and she smiles. “See? It’s me!”

“Blimey, you really had me worried for a minute there, Flora,” Jamie says and Flora turns and takes her place back beside Dani behind the island as Miles begins to scoop the batter onto the baking tray. 

“Does Owen know you three are ruining his kitchen?” Jamie asks as she walks towards the sink. She washes her hands then dries them on a tea towel and leans back against the counter. 

“He left us in charge of making the biscuits,” Miles says. 

“Biscuits, hmm? And what kind of biscuits are we talking about?”

Dani glances over her shoulder at Jamie and smiles. She takes a step back and slides Flora and her stool in closer to Miles so they can fill the baking tray together. She dips her finger into the cookie batter and walks the few steps over to Jamie. 

“Chocolate chip. A little birdie said it was your favourite,” Dani says. She lifts her finger to Jamie’s lips and the gardener sucks it into her mouth and smiles at the taste on her tongue. Dani doesn’t pull her finger back right away and watches intently as Jamie sucks and licks at it long after the batter is gone and a few moments later she reluctantly pulls her hand back when she remembers they’re very much not alone in the kitchen. 

“Bloody good, that is,” Jamie says. She licks her lips and Dani’s mouth goes a little dry at the sight but she has to shake herself out of a Jamie induced haze when Miles calls for her. 

“Is this enough, Miss Clayton?” he asks. 

Dani winks at Jamie and goes to Miles and places a hand on his shoulder. “This is perfect Miles and actually...I think our cookies are ready to go in the oven now.”

“How long will it be until they’re ready?” Flora asks. “I really want to eat one!”

Dani takes the baking tray and slides it into the oven then sets a timer. “They’ll need to bake for about twenty minutes and in the meantime…” She comes back to stand between the two children. “We’ve got quite the mess to clean up. Maybe if we’re lucky, Jamie will help us. Should we ask her?”

Miles and Flora nod and they all turn around to look at Jamie. “Pleeeeease?” both of the children say. 

Jamie rolls her eyes but smiles and agrees. “Only because I’m getting biscuits out of it.”

Miles and Flora hop off their stools and disappear in search of a broom and dustpan. Dani takes advantage of the moment alone and reaches out for Jamie’s hands. She tugs her forward then slips her hands around her waist. “I promise you can have much more than a biscuit later tonight. In the shower maybe. If you’re lucky.”

“Now that’s a better offer,” Jamie says. She kisses Dani and smiles against the blonde’s lips. 

Miles and Flora reappear and Dani’s arms drop from Jamie’s waist. She reaches a hand back behind her and sneakily touches the flour on the counter and innocently smiles then brings her hand up to Jamie’s face and rubs some flour across her nose. 

“Poppins...you did not just do that,” Jamie says and immediately lunges forward in search of her own flour.

“Uh-oh,” Flora says. “I think everything is about to get a little bit messier.”

~~~~~~~

Jamie has lived a tough life. Her childhood wasn’t easy, her time in prison wasn’t easy, finding a place for herself in the world - a quiet little life in Bly - wasn’t easy. But she had done it. It had been hard and painful but she had endured and come out on the other side and now her life was wonderful. The pain of all of that at the time felt like nothing compared to the pain she is feeling right now. The ladder had felt as though it was secure on even ground as it leaned up against the greenhouse. She had double checked, triple checked even. She was usually very careful and had been in this position plenty of times before cleaning out the gutters after a particularly wet and windy storm. Somehow though, somehow this time was different and when she climbed up the steps on the ladder and leaned to the side slightly, the ladder somehow shifted and the next thing she knew she was laying flat on her back struggling to breathe and clutching her arm in her hand. She had never fallen off the ladder before. Never. 

It feels as though her lungs refuse to fill with air and her arm feels like it’s on fire. Miles rounds the corner of the greenhouse, a football at his feet and suddenly the ball is quickly forgotten when he notices Jamie on the ground. 

“Jamie!” he shouts. He runs towards her and kneels. “Are you alright?”

Jamie tries to steady her breath to allow the wind that had been knocked out of her to return and as it does, she tries to speak but her voice comes out breathy and rough. 

“Miss...Miss...Clayton. Miles. G-get...Miss... Clayton.”

The young boy nods and quickly runs back in the direction he had come from and Jamie very slowly and painfully pulls herself up into a seated position. She continues to focus on her breathing and not on the throbbing pain she feels everywhere. She doesn’t need to look at her arm to know that her wrist is broken but she looks just for her own curiosity and winces as she tries to pull her jacket sleeve up. As soon as her wrist is revealed, she knows her initial assumption is correct and looks away from the angry limb.

“Bloody hell,” she says to herself and as soon as the words leave her mouth Dani comes running around the corner, and when her eyes land on Jamie, it’s as though nothing else in the world matters but making sure she’s alright. 

“Oh my god, what happened?” Dani shouts as she comes to fall to the ground on her knees beside Jamie. “All Miles said was you were hurt and needed help and I panicked.”

“Not wrong, I am hurt,” Jamie mumbles. 

“Jamie...what happened?”

Jamie nods her head towards the ladder laying not far from her on its side, looking perfectly unharmed and unbothered. She had not been quite so lucky. 

“Fuckin’ thing must’ve been resting on a bloody rock or somethin’. Been up those steps more times than I can count but I guess today was just my time for a fall. Wooden piece of shite.”

Dani’s eyes zero in on Jamie holding her arm and she delicately places her fingers on it. Her worried gaze softens. “You broke something, didn’t you?”

“Not by choice, but yeah...it’s lookin’ and feeling that way.”

“Can you stand? We need to get you to the hospital.”

Jamie tries to stand on her own but doesn’t get very far and collapses back onto the ground, her body still feeling the effects of hitting the hard grass with a thud. She moans in pain and shuts her eyes.

“Might need a hand, Poppins,” she mumbles between gritted teeth. 

Dani slips an arm around her waist and slowly pulls her up off the ground. Once she’s standing she finds her own balance but can already feel that the side of her abdomen is most definitely going to reveal a bruise that will only darken over the days that follow. She winces as she takes her first deep breath in a standing position.

“Couldn’t breathe for a minute there,” she says.

Dani cups her face in her hands and searches her eyes for any signs of something more serious being wrong. 

“Look at me,” Dani says. 

Jamie does and narrows her eyes. “Didn’t hit my head ya know…”

“What’s your name? What day of the week is it? Where are we? And who am I?”

“Dani…”

“Jamie. Answer those simple questions. Please.”

Jamie rolls her eyes then looks Dani square in the face again. “Name’s Jamie, it’s Thursday, we’re at bloody Bly Manor.”

Dani waits anxiously for the answer to the last question and even though Jamie is the one in pain, she wants to make Dani smile because Dani’s smile alone is enough to make her feel a thousand times better. Dani’s smile is one of the first things she ever noticed about her and every time she’s lucky enough to be on the receiving end of one, it’s like pure magic. 

“And you...are Dani Clayton. You are my girlfriend, the love of my life, and the woman of my dreams.”

“Jamie…” Dani smiles and a blush spreads across her cheeks and Jamie swears she can feel Dani’s smile in her own chest, it nestles itself in and makes a home beside her heart, and even though her side is aching and her arm is throbbing, Dani standing in front of her with her bright blue eyes and heartwarming smile is something she can’t tear her eyes away from. 

“You asked. Just being honest, Poppins.”

“I could stand here listening to you tell me you love me all day but we really need to get your arm checked out, come on.”

Dani kisses Jamie’s cheek then slides an arm around her waist again and helps lead her away from the scene of the accident. 

When they arrive back at Bly Manor late that evening, Jamie is pouting and doesn’t want to talk to or see anyone else. She quickly hurries into the house hiding her arm and disappears up the stairs and into Dani’s room before Owen and Hannah even have a chance to ask her how it went.

“She’s not a happy camper,” Dani says to them in the kitchen as she puts together a tray of food for them to eat since they missed dinner. “She had to get a cast on her wrist and isn’t too thrilled about it.”

“I’ll make some tea to take up for her,” Hannah says with a warm smile. “Tea always makes everything a bit better, don’t you think dear?”

“So a cast means it’s definitely broken, yeah?” Owen asks as he rummages around in the fridge for some things to add to Dani’s tray. “Miles said she was in a pretty bad way when he found her.”

“Right..yeah...apparently he just happened to walk around the side of the greenhouse just after she fell and she was having a hard time breathing. She wouldn’t have been all that high up if she was just cleaning out the gutters but the fall must have had the wind knocked out of her. I don’t know who would have found her if he...she would have been all alone on the ground out there.”

“But the wrist is the worst of it I hope and Jamie is strong, she would have made her way to help,” Hannah says as she places two teacups on the tray. 

Dani takes a long deep breath and sighs. “She almost broke a rib but luckily she got away with just some pretty rough bruising instead. It’s going to really hurt for a while but she’s got prescription medication to help with all of that.”

“Tough nut to crack, that one. She hates when she can’t take care of herself,” Owen says. He places one final thing on the tray and then supportively squeezes Dani’s shoulder. “She’s lucky to have you.”

Hannah pours some tea in each cup and smiles one last time before Dani picks it up and makes her way up to Jamie. 

The bedroom door is slightly ajar and she pushes it open with her shoulder and uses her foot to shut it behind her. 

“Hey you.”

Jamie is standing by the window with her back to Dani and she turns slightly, giving Dani a view of the new cast on her arm. 

“Hey.”

“Brought us some food and Hannah made us some tea.”

“Cup sounds so nice right about now. What a lass, that Hannah.”

Dani sets the tray down on the bed and sits on the edge. “They’re both worried about you, you know…”

Jamie half-smiles and shrugs. She drops her gaze to her wrist and frowns at the new cast she’s sporting. “I’ve dealt with worse.”

“Have you?” Dani asks, her voice laced with concern. “Because part of me thinks that isn’t true.”

“Okay...maybe not this bad, never broken a bone til’ now to be fair.”

Dani pats the space beside her on the bed, signaling Jamie to come and take a seat. She listens and as soon as she’s seated, Dani reaches out for the hand not partly covered by a cast. 

“People here worry about you. I worry about you. Please let me help you for the next little while, okay? You can’t always take on everything by yourself and you don’t have to. Not anymore.”

Jamie nods and she looks down as her eyes fill with tears. She doesn’t want to admit that she was in pain and she doesn’t want to admit that falling off the ladder had been scary, but that’s because there was a time in her life when she couldn’t let herself be vulnerable. She couldn’t show fear or weakness because the world, the great big scary world, might just swallow her whole if she did. But with Dani, she can feel everything and she knows that she doesn’t have to be alone in any of it. Letting herself be that vulnerable though is much easier said than done when she has so many years behind her screaming at her, telling her to conceal her emotions. 

“That really fucking sucked,” she quietly says and Dani softly rubs her thumb across the back of Jamie’s hand.

“Getting hurt always does.”

“I’ve always been so careful. So, so careful. I work out there on my own so I have to be. I’ve never fallen off anything before.

“Jamie, accidents happen. They just do.”

“How do I do finish any of my work now? The greenhouse...the garden...it -“

“Will still be there when your wrist is better. We will all pitch in and help you do whatever you can’t when it’s needed.”

Jamie nods and Dani puts a finger under her chin and tilts her head up. A tear rolls down her cheek and Dani is quick to wipe it away. “What do you need me to do right now?”

“Tell me this bloody bright pink cast isn’t the worst thing you’ve ever seen?”

Dani smiles and cocks her head to the side. “I kind of like it…”

“Just my luck, it’s not enough that I break the fuckin’ thing but then it turns out they’ve run out of every colour for a cast but pink? Almost told the doctor to bugger off when he said that.”

“You’d never admit it but pink is a beautiful colour on you. It brings out your eyes,” Dani says and Jamie shakes her head, refusing to agree. “I’ve seen you wear my sweaters around the bedroom in the evening...they look really nice.”

Jamie pouts and drops her head again. “I only wear them because they smell like you.”

Dani leans in and kisses the side of Jamie’s head. She puts her hand on Jamie’s thigh and softly rubs her hand across it. “I’m sorry you got hurt but I’m so glad you’re okay. It could have been worse, Jamie. You fell...off the top step of a ladder.”

And almost as if on cue, Jamie’s side throbs, and she winces in pain. Dani pulls her hands away, worrying that she has perhaps touched her with too much force. Jamie’s eyes are shut and her teeth are gritted and the air fills and exits her lungs in a very careful and calculated way. 

“Can I see your ribs?” Dani asks. 

Jamie opens her eyes and looks at her and another tear rolls down her cheek. She nods and slowly stands. With her noninjured arm, she very shakily pulls up her shirt to expose an already angry-looking black and blue patch of skin just to the left side of her rib cage. She turns to give Dani a full view.

“Feels worse than it looks,” she says and Dani’s heart breaks at the way Jamie says it, her voice timid and small. Dani leans forward and delicately presses her lips to the bruising skin. It’s so incredibly gentle and tender and Jamie watches her with with a loving gaze. Dani leaves a trail of soft kisses across the skin then glances up at Jamie who wipes another tear from her face. 

“Are you going to take any of your pain killers?” Dani asks. 

Jamie lets her shirt fall back down, hiding the building bruise and she sniffles. She moves away from Dani towards the tray of food and drinks and picks up a cup of tea and takes a sip. It’s not as hot now but still comforting as the warm liquid makes its way into her system. She puts the cup back and shakes her head. 

“I know what drugs do to people. They go mad for ‘em. That’s not who I am, but it’s who Mum was every now and then which means one wrong move and it could be who I am and I refuse to let that happen.”

“Okay,” Dani replies. “Okay. So no drugs. What can I do to help then? I want to help.”

Jamie scratches her forehead and yawns. The exhaustion of the day hits her hard and she almost feels too tired to even think about the pain.

“Can we just...lay down?”

Dani smiles and gets up from the bed. She picks up the tray and places it on the bench at the end of the bed then pulls back the blankets on the bed and takes her place on her side of it. Jamie very cautiously and carefully climbs onto her side of the bed slowly and small whimpers escape her lips as she leans back against the pillows and tries to get comfortable, nestling into Dani’s side. 

“You okay?” Dani asks when she finally stills and settles beside her. 

Jamie nods and Dani begins to gently stroke her hair. It’s quiet for a little while and then Jamie’s breathing begins to even out. Dani drops her gaze to the beautiful and broken woman beside her and finds her eyes closed. She looks peaceful and the bright pink cast stands out against the pale colour of the bedspread. No one would ever hear the end of that cast and Dani knows that the next couple of weeks aren’t going to be easy, but Jamie deserves to have people who want to take care of her and she would soon find out just how hard everyone would work to make things easier for her. She had people who cared, plenty of them. She had people who loved her, plenty of them. Dani most of all. Jamie seems to unconsciously snuggle in closer and Dani kisses the top of her head and falls asleep beside her. 

When morning light pours in through the window, it falls across Jamie’s face and she blinks open her eyes then brings a hand up to cover them from the sun. She nearly forgets about her injuries until she moves to sit up and the ache in her side reminds her of all that had happened the day before. Dani’s side of the bed is cold and empty and Jamie frowns until she hears the shower turn on and Dani comes out of the bathroom. 

“Hi,” Dani says. She smiles warmly and leans against the bathroom doorframe. “How are you feeling?”

Jamie tries to stretch her sore body and very carefully pulls herself up to lean back against the headboard. She shakes her head and frowns. “Like I’ve been run over by a lorry.”

“Which is why I think a nice hot shower will do you a world of good.”

“Dani...I think a shower might be tough in my state right now. My side and my…” Jamie lifts her wrist and glares at her wrist in disapproval. “...fuckin’ pink cast.”

“And that’s why I’m going to get in the shower with you and help,” Dani says. “And we’ll wrap your cast in a plastic bag so nothing happens to it.”

“Oh, you don’t...Poppins, you don’t have to.”

Dani walks to the bed and sits on the edge beside Jamie. She lifts a hand and cups her cheek. “Yes, I do. Because I love you and you need help and I want to help you.”

Jamie takes a deep breath and smiles. “Guess I better get used to you lot wanting to help me out then. No getting out of it.”

“Just wait until Flora sees your pink cast. She’s never going to want to leave your side.”

They both laugh and Jamie nuzzles her cheek against Dani’s hand. “Maybe the pink isn’t total shite after all.”

“You should wear my pink sweater today so you match.”

“Don’t push it,” Jamie says with a smirk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> keep sending me those suggestions for what you want to read and what you want to see these two get up to! I love all of your ideas and they're so fun to write!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An honest conversation about jealousy. A meteor shower. A dog. 
> 
> What more could you want?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovely readers! I know it's been a while since I posted a new chapter of this but I am back with a new one! Hope you enjoy these three little snapshots! They're fluffy and fun and we can all use more of that, right?
> 
> As always, please let me know if there's anything else you'd like to see with these short stories because I love writing them. Enjoy! x

“Jesus,” Jamie mumbles as she collapses against her mattress, blissful and completely spent. 

Dani slowly pulls herself out from under the blankets between Jamie’s legs. She grins and wipes her mouth on the back of her hand then crawls up her body to lay down beside her. She rests her head on Jamie’s chest and listens to the pounding sound of her heartbeat and closes her own eyes, settling into the quick rhythm. 

“Don’t think I’ve got anything left in me, Poppins.”

“I don’t think I believe you.” Dani softly runs her finger across Jamie’s collarbone, a featherlight touch, and it’s enough to make Jamie slightly squirm. 

“What’s gotten into you tonight?”

“What do you mean?”

“Can’t keep your hands off of me and I’m not complaining but…” Dani turns onto her back and looks up at the ceiling. She closes her eyes and Jamie sits up on her elbow, resting her head in her hand. “Dani.”

“It’s nothing.”

“You sure about that?”

“I just...sometimes I think about how you’ve done this all before with other women and…maybe I just can’t compete with any of that and I just like to prove that I can...make you feel good.”

Dani throws her arms over her face, embarrassed by her blatantly honest admission. Embarrassed by something she knows is a little foolish but she can’t help it. It’s not the first time that the thought has crossed her mind. They had been at the pub a few days before and she had seen the eyes of some of the women in the room track Jamie with their eyes as she walked to the bar to get the drinks, how they found it hard to focus on the people they were sitting with. Jamie was attractive, and people noticed. _Women_ noticed. There had been times when Dani had made her jealousy known, dragging Jamie out of the place and up to her flat but she always did her best to not let thoughts of her with other women ever cloud her mind but tonight she isn't having much luck with doing that. 

“Oh. Dani.”

“Pretend I didn’t say it,” Dani mumbles. “Just forget about it.”

“I won’t lie to ya, because you already know that I have slept with other people…”

Dani groans. “Please stop.”

“And of course that’s a thought that would cross your mind.”

“Jamie. Stop.”

Jamie can’t help a slight small from forming on her face. She’s been the only woman that Dani has ever been with and she’s wondered before if that's ever made Dani feel insecure and now she knows it has but what Dani needs to know, what Jamie had hoped she could feel, is that since walking into her life - no one woman will ever hold a candle to her. No one will ever come close. Jamie had seen fireworks before, but she had never felt them until Dani put her hands on her body. Explosions behind her eyelids. Stars beneath her skin. Light everywhere. Dani makes her feel all of that with just one stroke of her hand.

“Suppose we’ve never really had this conversation,” she says. 

Dani drops her arms from her face and looks at Jamie and shakes her head. “And I’d really rather not have it now.”

“You have questions.” Jamie raises an eyebrow and Dani looks away again, focusing her gaze on the ceiling. 

“I wish I didn’t.”

“Ask me, I’ll be honest. Promise.”

Jamie extends the arm not propping up her head and places her hand on top of Dani’s heart. It’s beating quickly and she feels Dani’s lungs expand as she takes a long, deep breath. 

It’s quiet for a moment as Dani carefully chooses her words and then she licks her lips and turns to look at Jamie once again. “How old were you when you first...slept with a woman?”

“I reckon I was about 16 or 17, just before I left for London,” Jamie answers and Dani closes her eyes. “Confirmed what I already knew about myself.”

“And before I turned up in Bly, had it been long since the last person?”

“Coupla months. Drank too much one night, it was over just as quickly as it started. Can’t even remember her name, pretty poor of me to be honest but we all have an itch to scratch. This place was pretty grim until you arrived, Poppins. We were all just holdin’ on for dear life to any bit of light that pulled us out of the shadows. Needed to feel somethin’ for a little while, but it never did stick. Not with anyone.”

“I understand.” Dani nods and puts one of her hands on top of Jamie’s. They’re lying side by side with almost no space between them, their legs tangled beneath the covers, but Dani still needs more contact, she needs to feel more of Jamie. “I wish I was braver. I wish I was like you. I had known for a long time that I liked women...but my life...I couldn’t just -”

“Poppins,” Jamie says. “That’s enough of that now, yeah? What’s done is done and since we can’t change the past, best not to dwell on it when instead, we can be here right now. Everyone wishes they could go back and do things differently but that would mean this, you and me, might be nothin’ and I’m pretty happy with my life right now. Pretty keen on keeping it this way. Aren’t you?”

“I am happy. I’ve never been happier but you’ve done so much, met so many people, and you have all of this...experience and I just don’t know if I can ever live up to that...so I try a bit harder.”

Dani’s words tug strongly on Jamie’s heartstrings and she slides in closer, so close that she’s almost half on top of her. She slips her hand off Dani’s heart, lifts it up to cradle her cheek, and kisses her. It’s deep, passionate, and it says more than she knows her words can. It’s reassurance, love, hope, and Dani’s whole body seems to melt into the mattress as Jamie takes her breath away. 

There was no need for Dani to ever live up to anything because she has left a bigger mark on Jamie’s life than anyone else has and as they kiss in the bed in her little flat above the pub in Bly, as two hearts wrap around each other in a way they only can when love binds them, Jamie does everything she can to make her feel this way. 

When Dani needs a little bit of air, she leans away slightly from Jamie but doesn’t go far, their lips still just barely touching, and her blue eyes flutter open to meet Jamie’s. “How do you do that?” she whispers. 

Jamie smiles. “Do what?”

“Take away all of my doubt. Make me feel like I’m the only thing that matters to you, the only person who exists.”

“Because,” Jamie says, her breath tickling Dani’s skin. She kisses her again but softer this time. It’s laced with a different kind of sweet tenderness that the previous kiss didn’t have. She pulls back and nuzzles their noses together. “Because when we’re together, you are. And... even though I don’t think it needs to be said after your display of skill tonight, Poppins, no one’s ever made me feel the way you make me feel.”

Dani smiles and it seems to light up the dark room. “You’re not just saying that?”

Jamie grabs Dani’s hand and brings it under the blankets, sliding it down between their bodies, and when she slips it between her thighs, Dani knows she isn’t. Suddenly, her earlier words of having nothing left in the tank, no energy for more, are forgotten and Dani smirks, swiftly moving on top of her. Her thigh slots in between Jamie's and she rocks forward.

“Only you,” Jamie says breathily as Dani gazes down at her, eyes hungry and filled with lust once again. She repeats the motion and a slight whimper spills from Jamie's lips.

“Jamie.” Dani leans down and kisses her neck then lifts her head and brings her lips to the shell of her ear. “I told you I didn't believe you when you said you had nothing left in you.”

~~~~~~~

“You both sure you want to do this tonight?”

Flora and Miles eagerly nod their head. A rare spell of nice weather and clear skies paired with the prospect of a meteor shower had the children buzzing with excitement after Owen had mentioned how fun it could be. He had planted the seed in their mind earlier that day after reading about it in the paper and since then they had been bugging Dani to spend the night outside under the stars. 

“It’ll be cold. And damp. And there will be bugs.”

“I’m not afraid of bugs!” Flora shouts. 

Dani puts her hands on her hips. “Flora, you scream when you see spiders.”

“Not all the time,” the young girl replies with a pout and looks at her brother. “Only when Miles tries to show them to me.”

“Oh, please! Please, Miss Clayton!” 

“We can do this but there is ONE condition, okay?” Dani crosses her arms and Miles and Flora stand up straight and nod their heads. “Jamie will need to be with us and since you both want to do this, you’ll need to ask her if she’s willing to stay out on the grass all night.

“Oh what a brilliant idea,” Flora replies with a clap of her hands. “Jamie loves being outside. She’ll have to say yes. She must!”

“Can we go ask her now?” Miles asks.

“No time like the present, but remember,” Dani says. “You two are asking her, not me.”

Did she need Jamie to be out there with them? No. Would they be out there all night? No. In a few hours the kids would pass out and Dani selfishly wants some more company for when they’d start to grow tired. She wants Jamie’s warmth out on the cool grass, wants her strong arms around her while they all lay on a quilt looking up at the sky. 

Together they leave the house and make their way out onto the grounds in search of Jamie. They find her, unsurprisingly, arms deep in some large planters inside her greenhouse. Dani stays just outside the entrance as Miles and Flora walk in wearing their sweetest smiles, ready to beg for what they want. It’d be an easy sell, and Dani knows this. Jamie wouldn’t refuse the time with her, the time under the stars and even though she’d roll her eyes and say she didn’t have the patience for children, she loves them and wants to see them happy.

“Hello, Jamie,” Flora says cheerfully. “How are you?”

Jamie looks up at them standing before her looking polite and proper, Miles with his hands in his trouser pockets and Flora tugging down her buttoned-up cardigan over her dress. She narrows her eyes and studies them, wondering what might have brought them into her space. A rare occasion.

“What did you two get yourselves into...”

“We’ve come to ask you something,” Miles says. 

“Yes, we have. And Jamie, it’s so very important. You mustn’t say no,” Flora adds.

Dani has to stifle a laugh as she waits outside. She knows Jamie will find it all very suspicious and she can only just see her through a bit of the dusty glass window. 

“Is that so? Right then.” Jamie pulls off her gardening gloves and tosses them onto her workbench. She crosses her arms and looks down at them curiously. “What is this important thing you troublemakers have come to ask?”

“There’s a meteor shower tonight and Miss Clayton said we could only stay outside to watch if we asked you to stay outside with us,” Flora says. She turns around and leans back so Dani can see her and gives her a thumbs up.

“Miss Clayton said that, did she? Well, why hasn’t she come ‘round herself to ask me about this?”

Dani takes a step back from the entrance to the greenhouse so she’s more out of sight and when the conversation grows quiet, she starts to get concerned until Miles and Flora come bounding out of the greenhouse. 

“She said yes!” Miles shouts excitedly as he and Flora run around on the grass then leave her alone and trod along on the grass back towards the house, leaving her alone outside the greenhouse. 

A knock on the glass window startles and when she turns, Jamie shaking her head and motioning for her to come inside. 

“Okay...look…” Dani says as she steps into the greenhouse but Jamie immediately slips an arm around her close and pulls her into a kiss before she can finish her sentence. Jamie slowly walks her back up against one of the closest wooden workbenches that she uses and pins her against it, deepening the kiss. It was a kiss they certainly needed privacy for, not at all like the small pecks they’d begun to give each other since growing comfortable enough to share their relationship around the children. 

Jamie is the one to pull away first and when Dani opens her eyes, her lips slightly red and parted, chest heaving a little as she catches her breath, she’s met with a smirk.

“Bit sneaky of you, Poppins. Using those two to do your dirty work. Oh, Miss Clayton said you just had to stay with us. Miss Clayton said it was the one condition.”

“Flora did agree with me when I said you had to be with us...” 

“Mmhmm, bet she did. And why is it that I have to be with you, hmm?” Jamie’s hands disappear under the bottom hem of Dani’s shirt and her fingers drift across the bare skin of her abdomen.

“Because you like being outside and I thought...it might be romantic to spend some time under the stars, even if the kids are with us.”

“I already said yes to them, don’t need any more convincing from you.”

“You sure you really want to? It’s okay if you don’t.”

Jamie nods her head and grips Dani’s waist softly. “I want to. Sounds fun, who doesn’t enjoy a little star gazin’ sometimes, right?"

As night begins to fall, Miles and Flora drag a pile of blankets out onto the grass. They’re bundled up in dressing robes over their pajamas and even though. Dani stands in the doorway that leads out to the garden and smiles as she watches them spread out the blankets over the grass. She rests her head against the doorframe and then feels a kiss against the back of her shoulder and arms move around her waist. 

“Those two sure are chuffed,” Jamie says. “They can be a handful but it is nice to see ‘em happy like this.”

Dani nods her head and leans back into Jamie’s embrace. “I’m glad you’ll be out there with us tonight.”

“I give it twenty minutes before they’re passed out cold.”

“We’re ready!” Flora calls out to them and Dani reluctantly removes herself from Jamie’s arms and grabs their jackets hanging from hooks beside the door. They pull them on and join the kids out on the grass. The English countryside had its pros and cons, but a pro was no light pollution which meant on a clear night, the stars could shine crisply and clearly above their heads. 

Miles and Flora lay down on the blankets and Jamie and Dani follow suit, laying down beside them. The kids excitedly talk and Dani reaches for Jamie’s hand beside her. 

“What’s that one, Jamie?” Miles asks as he points out one of the constellations. 

“Ah good shout, Miles,” Jamie says. “That’s Orion’s belt, that right there is one constellation you’ll almost always be able to pick out when you look up.”

“Which one is the big dipper?” Flora asks. 

Jamie opens her mouth to answer when a meteor streaks across the sky above them and the kids both shriek in excitement. 

“Wow,” Dani whispers. 

“Pretty amazing.” Jamie turns her head to find a childlike wonder painted across Dani’s face. The stars above them provide just enough light to make out the features of her face and her wide eyes say so much. The stars are certainly amazing, but Dani’s glee is more amazing to Jamie. 

“There was a little too much light where I grew up to ever really see the stars all that well.”

“Plenty of stars to be seen all the way out here.”

“Look!” Miles says. “Another one!” 

"I read in a magazine once that you can send away with some money to name a star," Dani says as she stares at the sky, hoping to catch another streak of light across the sky. "They'll pick one in the sky for you and you can name it whatever you want."

"A star named Dani sure sounds nice," Jamie replies. "Doubt it'd ever shine quite as bright as you do."

It's a cheesy line but it makes Dani laugh and Jamie knows that anything that earns her that sound is always worth it, even the cheesiest and most cliche lines. 

"There! I saw another one!" Flora claps her hands in excitement. 

Dani and Jamie miss the third meteor because instead of gazing at the stars, they now face one another. Jamie's fingers itch to reach up and trace Dani's collarbone, they itch to slip into her blonde hair, they itch to dip under her shirt but they're not alone and she's mindful of this so she respectfully keeps her hands to her side, one of them still holding Dani's. 

“Beautiful,” she says and Dani knows she’s not talking about the stars. She smiles and squeezes Jamie’s hand, scoots a little closer to her on the blanket, and looks back up at the sky. 

“I love how the stars twinkle,” Flora says. “It’s so pretty.”

“It’s like magic,” Miles adds. 

“Yeah,” Dani says as she glances at the children and when she feels Jamie's press against her body, feels her warmth and safety, she looks at her again and finds that she still hasn’t looked back up at the sky. She finds a set of eyes still fixed intently on her. “It really is like magic.”

~~~~~~~

It’s an average cloudy day in Bly and Dani is inside the classroom with Flora and Miles as Owen prepares their lunch in the kitchen. Hannah is sweeping the foyer and Jamie is outside weeding one of her flower gardens. Everyone in their typical place. Everything right where it belongs. When Dani finishes her lesson with the children, they stop into the kitchen to say hi to Owen and to get a glass of juice. They’re about to make their way outside for some fresh air before they eat when a sound in the distance makes their ears all perk up and they look around at one another. 

“Was that…” Dani narrows her eyes and Owen and nods his head. 

“I think it might have been but where did it come from?”

Miles and Flora disappear through the door beside the kitchen and run outside onto the grass and the distant sound grows closer and Dani and Owen are now sure they’ve heard it right. Barking. A dog barking. 

They follow the children outside and Dani can see Jamie across the grass, kneeling in front of a garden filled with pretty yellow flowers and behind her, a golden retriever comes bounding through some trees and across the grass. 

“Jamie! Behind you!”

Jamie lifts her head, pulling her razor-sharp focus from her plants and she looks over her shoulder as a dog runs through one of her flower beds, heading straight towards her. She hadn’t heard the barking, too lost in her own thoughts as she worked. It comes to a stop beside her and excitedly leaps up and down wanting attention. 

“Blimey! Hello mate,” Jamie says, not all fazed by or afraid of the dog, clearly friendly and only wanting to be pet. She takes off her gardening gloves and gives the dog's head a scratch, earning a lick from the dog on her hand in return. “Where did you come from?”

Jamie and Owen follow the kids across the grass towards Jamie and the dog and leaves her side, running over to them. The kids both sit on the ground and the dog bounces around them happily, moving between them for pets, licking their hands and nudging itself against their bodies. 

“Have you guys ever had a dog turn up on the property before?” Dani asks. 

“I wish,” Jamie says and takes a seat on the grass beside Miles and Flora, wanting another chance to play with the dog. 

“Jamie loves dogs,” Owen says and Dani looks at her as she scratches behind its ears, letting it lick her face. “Always wanted us to get one here but Hannah would never allow it. Between us though, I think it’d be brilliant.”

“Good boy,” Jamie mumbles. “Sit.” The dog follows her command and she points to the collar on its neck. “Not got a tag though.”

“He’s so cute,” Flora says. “Can we keep him?”

Dani kneels beside them and Jamie hugs the dog, a beaming smile on her face. She scratches its sides and he wiggles out of her arms and lays down on the grass, belly up. She’s as giddy and happy as the children are and it warms Dani’s heart. Owen really meant it when he said she loved dogs and it’s a fact that takes Dani a little by surprise but seeing her so happy, so at ease with the animal is wonderful to watch. It wouldn’t last though because the dog isn’t theirs to keep despite the joy it's currently providing them all.

“I’m sorry Flora,” Dani says. “But this dog already belongs to someone and we need to find where he came from. I’m sure someone is missing their best friend right now.”

She swears that Jamie pouts as the happy dog hops back up and moves between Jamie, Flora and Miles, wanting them all to pet and give him the attention he so desperately wants. 

“I can go into town and ask around,” Owen says, slipping his hands into his pockets. “See if anyone is missing a dog. I’ll ask Hannah to come along with me and you four can stay and keep a watch, make sure he doesn’t go running off again.”

“Do we...do we have to do it right away?” Jamie looks beside her at Dani and up at Owen with pleading eyes. “At least if he’s here, he’s safe.”

The dog jumps into her lap and licks her face, making her squeal in delight. It’s a sound Dani has never heard her make before and her happiness is practically palpable. It’s nearly impossible to refuse her request but she knows the sooner they track down the dog’s owner, the better. 

“Who knows what we’ll find in town,” Owen replies. “If no one knows anything then we’ll have no choice but to keep him here for a little while.”

Jamie hugs the dog again and when he looks at Dani with big puppy dog eyes, she knows why it’s so hard to deny him the attention. Owen leaves them all outside and when he explains to Hannah what they’ve found outside, she agrees to go into Bly with him in search of the owner. 

Miles goes inside to fill a bowl with some water and Jamie snatches some of the sausages that Owen had been making for lunch, not knowing when the last time the dog had eaten or had water. 

“Had one when I was a kid,” Jamie says as Miles and Flora pet the dog. She and Dani stand beside each other a couple of feet away and watch as the happy dog gets scratched by the kids as he scarfs down his snack. “She looked just like this one.”

“How come you never told me you liked dogs so much?” Dani asks, bumping her shoulder against Jamie and smiling. 

“Topic never came up.” 

When the dog finishes its food and water, it walks over to Jamie and lays down on her feet. She looks down at it with one of the biggest smiles on her face that Dani has ever seen. 

“I think he likes you,” she says. 

“I’m still tryin’ to convince Hannah. One day I’ll wear her down.”

An hour later, the clouds begin to part and the sun pokes through and shines down on them warmly. Dani had left Jamie with the dog so she could go inside and get Miles and Flora lunch and as she washes the dishes, she watches Jamie throw a stick across the long garden. The dog runs after it and gathers it in its mouth then bounds back towards her and drops it on the ground in front of her. She kneels to pick it up and lovingly rubs his face then stands and throws it again. They do this four or five times, neither tiring of the activity and both seeming thrilled about every second of it. 

“Why doesn’t Mrs.Grose want a dog?” Dani asks as Miles and Flora finish the last of their lunch and bring her their plates. She gets step stools for both of them and they climb up onto them beside her to help her dry the plates. 

“Owen says it’s because Mrs. Grose doesn't want more mess to clean up,” Flora replies. 

“And Jamie says it’s because she thinks dogs are smelly,” Miles adds. 

“Both of those things can be true,” Dani says. 

Flora frowns but she nods, knowing Dani is right. “We know, but I love animals. Jamie loves animals too.”

Dani laughs a little bit and wipes her wet hands off on a tea towel after washing off the last of the cutlery. She looks out the window again to find Jamie running around in circles, the dog chasing her to try and get the stick and she laughs as its tongue hangs out the side of its mouth. Jamie collapses onto the ground and the dog, forgetting all about the stick, jumps on top of her and she laughs in delight. “I’m learning that. She definitely loves dogs.”

“Jamie loves lots of animals, Miss Clayton,” Miles says. “We once found a baby bird that had fallen out of its nest and when we saw that the nest had been ruined, Jamie brought it into the greenhouse and took care of it. She fed it and kept it warm and safe in a box until it was able to fly.”

Maybe one day, when they’ve moved on with a life away from Bly, they’ll have their own home. Dani pictures it as she looks out the window, a quiet little life with Jamie in England or maybe even back in America. Someplace quaint with plants, space, and they could have a dog. They could be even happier than they already are. It’s a beautiful dream to have and it’s one that Dani makes a point of setting aside in her mind, one she’d like to continue to build. _A life with you is all I need._

When the dishes are all dry and put away, they join Jamie back out on the grass, and Miles and Flora take over dog duty from her. They begin to run around with the happy pup, still so full of energy and Dani hugs Jamie from behind as they watch. She presses a soft kiss to the back of her neck, exposed all thanks to her pinned-up hair. 

“You looked very happy out here,” she says. 

Jamie grins and puts her hands on top of Dani’s on her stomach. “They’ll run you ragged but they’re loads of fun.”

“You’d really love one, wouldn’t you?” 

“Yeah.” Jamie sighs and turns in Dani’s arms. “I really would. One day, maybe.”

Suddenly the dog starts barking and Owen and Hannah round the corner with a stranger in tow. The dog takes off, running towards the man who happily kneels and accepts him as he leaps into his arms. 

“Well, that’s that then.” Jamie half-smiles and lets go of Dani’s hands then wander's off in the direction of the garden she had been weeding when the dog showed up. Dani watches as she picks up her gloves and her tools and walks off on her own in the direction of her greenhouse.

“Thank you so much for takin’ care of Buddy,” the man says. “He’s never run off like that before but he got hooked on something in the trees and just took off from the trail. I kept calling and calling his name but he never came back.”

“It was these ones who kept a close eye on him,” Hannah says as Dani and the kids approach them. 

“I’m glad he has a home." Flora kneels and gives Buddy one last hug and the man kindly smiles at her. “He’s a very good dog. A very good dog indeed.”

“And he is lucky that he ran onto your grounds here. He seems to have found some very lovely people. Couldn’t believe my luck when these two approached me in the supermarket asking ‘round about the dog. I spent two hours looking for him early this morning before heading back into town.”

Dani puts her hands on the kid's shoulders as they stand in front of her. “It must have been fate.”

“Maybe someday I’ll bring Buddy back,” the man says as he pats the dog’s head. “Let him run around with you awhile, he seems to be rather fond of you all.”

“Ah.” Owen looks at Dani, he nods and the corners of his mouth curl up into a smile. “Think there’s a few people here who’d like that a lot.”

They say their final goodbyes and Miles and Flora both give the dog another scratch on his head. The man thanks them once more then attaches the leash to the dog’s collar and leads him back towards his vehicle. Owen and Hannah take the kids inside to help prepare tea and Dani follows the path Jamie had taken towards her greenhouse. 

She stops outside the door and watches Jamie for a moment as she waters some of the plants. There’s something so calming about watching someone work, especially when they truly love what they do. Jamie moves with ease as she carefully tends to each of the plants, gently dipping her fingers into the soil then pouring water into each pot. Dani’s seen her work in here before, so many times, but it’s never lost on her just how in her element the gardener looks. How at home she seems. How without her, the little ecosystem within seems to be missing a crucial piece. She lightly knocks on the door then walks inside.

“Hey, you.”

Jamie glances up at her and smiles. “Poppins.”

“Dog’s gone. His name is Buddy.”

“Buddy.” Jamie nods and moves aside some leaves to water another plant right at its roots. “Good name for a dog.”

“What would you name one? A dog. If you had one now.” Dani leans against a nearby workbench and studies Jamie. There’s a smudge of dirt on her forehead that hadn’t been there earlier and she finds it incredibly endearing. “I have a feeling it’s something you’ve thought of before.”

“Charlie is a good name. Could be for a boy or a girl.”

Of course she had thought about it before. She had spent a lot of her life thinking about it. Dani smiles and nods in agreement at the name.

"It’s a name very worthy of a good dog.”

“What’s got you so interested in dogs now, Poppins? Not that I’m minding talkin’ about it.”

Dani puts her hands into her pockets. “I was just thinking about the future.”

Jamie stops working and sets the watering can down. “About _our_ future?”

“Maybe.” A slight blush creeps its way onto Dani’s face and she sheepishly smiles. “It’s nice to imagine a life with you. It’s what I want, what I’m sure we’ll have, so I like to think about it and maybe...maybe we’ll get a dog.” She shrugs her shoulders and Jamie smirks then wipes her hands on her overalls, rounds her workbench and hooks her fingers into the belt loops of Dani’s denim. 

“Poppins, I’d take any kind of life with you. Dog or no dog.”

“I know,” Dani replies. “But a dog isn’t a terrible idea.”

Jamie laughs, shaking her head and stepping closer into Dani. “A dog is...well yeah, a dog is a brilliant idea."

"Someday?" Dani smiles a hopeful smile, one that has some much promise to it. Her eyes are soft but bright and Jamie feels at home as she looks into them. 

"Someday."


End file.
